Using Computers in the Law Office (West Legal Studies Series)

Book Description

This book teaches the myriad computer skills legal assistants need in order to help make law offices and other legal organizations run smoothly. From case management and docket control software to litigation support software and legal timekeeping and billing, this is the definitive book on computer usage for legal professionals. Readers also will find that this teaching tool becomes a handy reference manual in the professional setting.

Customer Reviews:

For beginners.......2007-05-12

I purchased this book for a class (legal technology) which turned out to be as remedial as this book. While I believe it could be very useful for someone who is not used to navigating a computer, it really insults the intelligence of those of us who have grown up with technology. This book does have a few useful tips that clarify certain aspects of Concordance and other legal programs, but I find it easier to explore an unfamiliar program on my own without the tedious step-by-step process Roper uses in his lessons.

Informative, but............2006-11-07

I purchaed this book for a Paralegal class. I had two very bad experiences with the book. First, the first copy I received had no Appendix in it, so I had to send it back. It was unfortunate, as I needed the Appendix to do an assignment. Secondly, the software that was provided was expired when I tried to load it into my laptop to do homework. I called the publishing company and they promised to send me a new disk; two weeks later and I still have not received it.
I will keep it as a reference source, but I hope that another book will be written for future students. If you do not need it for a class, PLEASE look for another book.

Great learning tool.......2005-03-24

I bought this book for a legal assistant class and I enjoyed it. I learned a lot. It's hard to learn computers from a book - but not this one. The book comes with software and has tutorials and exercises that accompany the software. My class also liked the fact that there are tons of practical applications for how computers are actually used by practicing paralegals and legal secretaries in the book. Also, when it comes to litigation support - one of the most difficult legal computer applications to master - it was fantastic. It comes with three different litigation support programs, including Summation. Summation is fairly involved to learn and the book, tutorials, exercises and software did a good job of teaching this to me. I am confident now in my ability to do basic litigation support. The chapter on using the Internet to do legal and factual research was also excellent.

I would definately buy this again!.......2005-03-18

This book is essential for anyone working in a law office. Computers are used in nearly every aspect of working in a law firm. The book is huge - nearly 700 pages - and it covers every main type of program used in a law office. It comes with software, and lots of exercises and I thought it was very easy to read and straight forward. It covers hard topics like litigation support and Access databases in a way that I could understand without totally going over my head. The book covers both entry level and advanced topics. For example in the word processing chapter the Word tutorial had 7 lessons that got progressively more difficult, starting with basic word processing and ending with mail merges and creating tables of authorities.

Highly Recommended.......2005-03-14

I think this is a fabulous book. It comes with demonstration versions of 5 legal software programs including three litigation support programs, a time and billing program and a case management program. There were a number of in-depth, hands-on exercises for each program, so I really got to learn about each type of program by using it. Also, although I have used Access, Word, Excel and Powerpoint before, I liked the fact that there were in-depth exercises for learning legal applications for each of these programs. This is a very practical book.

Sams Teach Yourself SAP in 24 Hours (2nd Edition) (Sams Teach Yourself)

Average customer rating:

Great overall reference
A little bit here and there
Not really worth the purchase
Excellent Resource
Good but not Great...

Sams Teach Yourself SAP in 24 Hours (2nd Edition) (Sams Teach Yourself)
George Anderson , and Danielle Signorile Larocca
Manufacturer: Sams
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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SAP R/3 for Everyone: Step-by-Step Instructions, Practical Advice, and Other Tips and Tricks for Working with SAP
mySAP ERP For Dummies (For Dummies (Computer/Tech))
The SAP Consultant Handbook
SAP Planning: Best Practices in Implementation
ABAP Objects

ASIN: 0672328224

Book Description

Sams Teach Yourself SAP in 24 Hours, Second Edition is the perfect tool for learning one of the most sophisticated enterprise solutions available today. Designed to being with the basics, you will become acquainted with the entire SAP system, from navigation to creating your own reports. You'll also cover:

Implementation tools and methodologies
NetWeaver
ECC 5.0
Designing Screens and menus
Reporting
Integration with Microsoft Office
And more

Written by leading SAP consultants with over 20 years of combined experience, this easy-to-understand tutorial is ideal for getting up and running with SAP quickly and efficiently.

Download Description

Sams Teach Yourself SAP in 24 Hours is the perfect tool for learning one of the most sophisticated enterprise solutions available on the market today. This book covers everything you will need to become acquainted with the SAP system, from basic navigation through creating your own reports. This book is designed to begin with the very basics and to move forward to cover the topics necessary to unleash the power of SAP. Topics covered include: Navigation in SAP, Implementation Tools and Methodologies, NetWeaver, ECC, Designing Screens and Menus, Reporting, Integration with Microsoft Office, and more.

Customer Reviews:

Great overall reference.......2007-08-15

I am on a project team that is starting the implementation of a specialized SAP module, and I purchased Mr. Anderson's book to help me get a high-level overview of the overall SAP application. I am a relatively new SAP user, and this book was extremely valuable in helping me ascend the learning curve and get up-to-speed on this project. I can now have intelligent conversation with our technical staff, ask knowledgeable questions, and generally understand their answers.

My suggestions at this point would be to include a general glossary and an acronym glossary. I would also recommend, in addition to the "Watch out" and "By the way" boxes, another information source titled, "For further information on this topic".

Given that an overall reference for SAP could easily be the size of a set of encyclopedias, I would give this single book 5 stars out of 5.

A little bit here and there.......2007-07-26

Although many good points are made in this easy to read book, it clearly suffers from a lack of target audience definition. As a theoretical intro to the field, one doesn't need to know how to customize a screen in SAP. As an intro user's guide, one doesn't need to know many of the more technical topics briefly discussed. Since there isn't enough coverage for any one audience, I can't recommend this book.

Not really worth the purchase.......2007-03-16

This book is not intended for technical users. It provides a very high level guide for day to day users. Chapters 1-3 are worth reading to get a broad overview of SAP.
After those three chapters, the book suffers from trying to cover just a tiny bit of everything in SAP. The authors dont want to leave anything out, but at the same time they don't cover anything in great detail.
At your company, you will probably need to learn certain components and transaction in SAP, but surely not everything.
I recommend reading the first 3 chapters, and then the single chapter on the area of SAP in which you will be working. Reading much more than that will probably be a waste of time. I doubt you will ever use it as a reference and that is why I do not recommend purchasing it. It might be available at your local library.
To its credit, the book is well written. The pictures are in black and white, but are still useful. Learning how to use SAP, however, is best done in front the computer with a teacher at your side. I learned much more in a half-hour session with a seasoned user than I did by reading several chapters of this book.

Excellent Resource.......2007-02-06

We give this book to all folks new to SAP; especially good for sales executives, account managers, project managers, and others who do are not in a technical position and need to gain a good overview of SAP and SAP's latest architecture

Good but not Great..........2006-12-29

I was looking for a book that would provide a beginners introduction to SAP. Well this book did fulfill my needs to a great extent. This book is probably the most up to date introductory book on SAP. It also provides a good concise history, purpose, and value for each of the SAP modules. However the book fails to show how various modules link to each other. It also fails to explain why there are so many modules. I did find answers to all these questions but that was with the help of other books.

This book will set you in right direction but don't expect it to answer all your questions. It seriously needs some good technical diagrams. Diagrams in the book are of no value.

Business Objects: The Complete Reference (Osborne Complete Reference Series)

Average customer rating:

Business Objects: The Complete Reference
A real Time Killer - - - No Meat and all gravy
Excellent Resource for "newbies"
Wonderful resource!
Business Objects: The Complete Reference

Business Objects: The Complete Reference (Osborne Complete Reference Series)
Cindi Howson
Manufacturer: McGraw-Hill Osborne Media
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Similar Items:

Creating Documents with BusinessObjects
Business Objects: Complete Report Writing Course
BusinessObjects XI (Release 2): The Complete Reference
Special Edition Using Business Objects Crystal Reports XI (Special Edition Using)
Business Objects: Web Intelligence Course

ASIN: 0072226811

Book Description

If your objective in business intelligence reporting is Business Objects success, this is the resource for you. Gives a thorough run-down of the software, plus coverage of Web intelligence, complex queries, multidimensional analysis, and more. Author Cindi Howson has plenty of hands-on experience with the product.

Download Description

Customer Reviews:

Business Objects: The Complete Reference .......2007-05-14

I have not gotten through the entire book yet but so far it has addressed all my needes. I found it to be more than just a reference manual. It takes you through eash aspect of the product in a fair amount of detail. It also give you best practices, the kind of thing I would hope to get in classroom instruction.

A real Time Killer - - - No Meat and all gravy.......2006-09-27

I have to say I was really excited when I picked up this book but now that I am almost through the book ...... I wonder how the hell did I have to patience to read the entire book without tossing it into the bin ..... well may be I wanted to to get something out of it for my money's worth ..... This book is not bad its just not what you would expect from the complete refrence series .... ABSOLUTELY NO MEAT ..... hell I could have written a book by copying and modifying the language from the USER Manuals ........ You don't learn something when the author just tells you "OK drop this menu and select this option" unless you are going to tell me why am I selecting this option ..... sry but I have to be harsh on this .... when you are writing a book a such a good software you need to be in really top form with an excellent command on everything ........ In the end "READ THIS IF YOUR COMPANY BUYS IT FOR YOU AND DON"T SPEND MRE THAN 2 DAYS ON THIS"

Excellent Resource for "newbies" .......2006-03-14

I found the sections on the history of Busines Objects and the background on Business Intelligence very helpful. The only missing component is a CD for the report exercises.

Wonderful resource!.......2004-01-27

I was thrilled when I heard that a book was being published on Business Objects! After getting a copy of Cindi Howson's book, I was even more pleased!

It is truly a very comprehensive guide on how to use Business Objects. It does a good job of explaining the concepts behind business intelligence as well the the different Business Objects products.

I think every person who uses Business Objects would benefit from owning this book! I recommend it through our local user group and to all of my clients!

Business Objects: The Complete Reference.......2003-06-15

As a reference guide, the book is extremely valuable. I have seen other books on this subject that are essentially a copy of the help guide. Not to mention that the pricing is 2 to 3 times what a normal book would cost.

The examples are good and the index is pretty complete. A test for a good reference book is that you can readily find the solution to a particular problem. Ms. Howson's book certainly fits the bill.

Book Description

With a focus on fundamental skill development, AutoCAD Workskills for Success with AutoCAD 2007- Basics is designed around the “Draw-Modify-Dimension-Print” cycle and focuses on the drawing skills needed to produce 2 dimensional drawings. Taking a layered learning approach, it builds skills gradually rather than overwhelming readers immediately with numerous commands or procedures. Projects, assignments, examples and tutorials draw from the fields of architecture, mechanical engineering and civil engineering. Complete with an instructor’s resource disk and student companion website, the text emphasizes both knowledge and productivity as the means for being successful in the workplace.

5s for the Office: Organizing the Workplace to Eliminate Waste

Average customer rating:

It proofs how Kaizen goes into office

5s for the Office: Organizing the Workplace to Eliminate Waste
Thomas Fabrizio , and Don Tapping
Manufacturer: Productivity Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Similar Items:

Office Kaizen: Transforming Office Operations into a Strategic Competitive Advantage
Value Stream Management for the Lean Office
The Lean Office: Collected Practices & Cases (Insights on Implementation)
The Complete Lean Enterprise: Value Stream Mapping for Administrative and Office Processes
Creating a Lean Culture: Tools to Sustain Lean Conversions

ASIN: 1563273187

Book Description

Although office and administrative activities are usually 60% of the production costs in most manufacturing organizations, these areas often get excluded during Lean initiatives. To achieve Lean, office activities must fully support shop floor manufacturing operations to eliminate waste. The adoption of 5S throughout all office and administrative functions is the first step to increase efficiency.

In 5S for the Office: Organizing the Workplace to Eliminate Waste, Tom Fabrizio and Don Tapping bring the concepts of the 5S System -- effective tools for the elimination of waste on the shop floor -- into the office environment. The activities at the heart of 5S for the Office (organizing, ordering, cleaning, standardizing, and sustaining all of these) are completely logical. They are the basic rules for managing any effective workplace. However, it is the systematic method with which the 5S system approaches these activities that makes it unique.

This book is a blueprint for building a Lean foundation for your office, and:

Provides detailed step-by-step implementation on how to apply 5S to your office activities. Includes forms, worksheets, and photos that will allow you to "see" the value of 5S, thereby increasing sustained support of the implementation. The accompanying CD contains blank versions of many of the worksheets that appear throughout the book. The worksheets on the CD, however, are interactive - the user can electronically enter and save information right on the particular form. Can be used as a training and implementation manual.

Readers of this book can immediately apply the concepts of 5S to their office and administrative activities, resulting in the elimination of waste, reduced production costs, and increased profits.

Customer Reviews:

It proofs how Kaizen goes into office.......2007-07-03

Being a staff working for a Kaizen Company Toyota, Kaizen was so clear to me, yet through this book I have learned how The 5S can be implemented at administrative jobs Lean Office Demystified

Creating a Trading Floor: The Project Manager's Guide to the Design, Construction and Launch of Trading Floors and Data Centers

Average customer rating:

Creating a Trading Floor: The Project Manager's Guide to the Design, Construction and Launch of Trading Floors and Data Centers
Charles Smith
Manufacturer: Kogan Page
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0749448385

Book Description

The project manager's Bible to the design and implementation of ground-breaking trading floors
To stay competitive, trading floors require cutting-edge technology, a complex network that consists of everything from phone lines to data servers. This practical manual offers extensive, up-to-the-minute advice for all those involved in the planning, design and construction of trading floors and data centers in any of the world's major financial centers, from New York to Hong Kong. It covers timetables, sequential planning lists, financial regulations, corporate governance and data security. In addition, it includes lists of the vital questions to ask suppliers, contractors and clients. An invaluable reference for IT professionals and senior executives in the world's leading investment banks.

Agile Retrospectives: Making Good Teams Great

Average customer rating:

Use it every retrospective
Reality Check
Extremely Helpful
Project-oriented programmers must have this.
Excellent advice for those desiring more frequent, shorter, better retrospectives

Agile Retrospectives: Making Good Teams Great
Esther Derby , Diana Larsen , and Ken Schwaber
Manufacturer: Pragmatic Bookshelf
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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PMP Exam | Project Management | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

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Similar Items:

Agile Estimating and Planning (Robert C. Martin Series)
Behind Closed Doors: Secrets of Great Management (Pragmatic Programmers)
Practices of an Agile Developer: Working in the Real World (Pragmatic Programmers)
User Stories Applied: For Agile Software Development (The Addison-Wesley Signature Series)
The Enterprise and Scrum

ASIN: 0977616649

Book Description

See how to mine the experience of your software development team continually throughout the life of the project. The tools and recipes in this book will help you uncover and solve hidden (and not-so-hidden) problems with your technology, your methodology, and those difficult "people" issues on your team.

Project retrospectives help teams examine what went right and what went wrong on a project. But traditionally, retrospectives (also known as "post-mortems") are only helpful at the end of the project--too late to help. You need agile retrospectives that are iterative and incremental. You need to accurately find and fix problems to help the team today.

Now, Derby and Larsen show you the tools, tricks, and tips you need to fix the problems you face on a software development project on an on-going basis. You'll see how to architect retrospectives in general, how to design them specifically for your team and organization, how to run them effectively, how to make the needed changes, and how to scale these techniques up. You'll learn how to deal with problems, and implement solutions effectively throughout the project--not just at the end.

With regular tune-ups, your team will hum like a precise, world-class orchestra.

Customer Reviews:

Use it every retrospective.......2007-05-07

I refer to the activities in the book all the time. It really gives a fresh look at the retrospective and keeps the team engaged. It's very easy to come out with some actions to carry forward which the team is committed to doing.

Reality Check.......2007-03-06

After the first 100 pages, I was ready to give this book a single star. Then it made its way back by producing some stimulus in the center of the book, basically talking about some techniques for eliciting and then analyzing feedback (made it back to a 4, 5 is ludicrous just from the content perspective, this thing is thin in every sense of the word). But then, it fell back to a 3 because ultimately the many examples are laid out as if they were patterns, but there is little to no structure. Finally, the conclusion section goes back to some of the silliness of the beginning. What I am referring to as silliness is the constant enveloping of process suggestions with new agey psychobabble. I found that 80% of the time, this additional stuff was noise.

Ultimately, I was left convinced (as probably all who have done iterative could easily be) that retrospectives are a good thing, but a strong conviction that they could be done better than what is being espoused here. There are a few good ideas, and the overall presentation is good. That's all.

Extremely Helpful.......2007-01-17

This book is a great resource for anyone who wants to lead a retrospective with their team. I am impressed with how much valuable information it conveys in a short, non-threatening, and highly readable format! It is a resource that I will use again and again. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in learning more about team retrospectives.

Project-oriented programmers must have this........2006-10-14

Project retrospectives can help educate a team by providing a clear review of what went right or wrong on a project, and why - but usually they are held at the end of a project after its completion, offering insights for the next project only. Agile retrospectives are incremental during the course of the project and can serve to strengthen courses and identify problems along the way: AGILE RETROSPECTIVES explains and explores the methodology and techniques for producing such analysis through the life of the project. Project-oriented programmers must have this.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

Excellent advice for those desiring more frequent, shorter, better retrospectives.......2006-09-24

One of the challenges facing an agile team that holds a retrospective at the end of each one- to four-week iteration is how to keep the meetings fresh. When done this often retrospectives become redundant and team members often simply go through the motions. This is an excellent book that is full of so many ideas on how to conduct a retrospective that they will never become redundant.

I really like how the book is structured. It starts with three chapters about the purpose of retrospectives, how to tailor one for your team, and how to lead one. A general framework for retrospectives is laid out (gather data, generate insights, make decisions, and so on). The remaining chapters delve into these topics and each presents a variety of ways to perform the step. I picked up some wonderful ideas in these chapters that I have been able to successfully apply.

I'm not a big fan of the grueling multi-day retrospectives commonly held after a year (or more) of work on a big bang-style, waterfall project. This book perfectly fills a need, describing how to run much shorter and more effective retrospectives on a more frequent basis. I highly recommend it.

Virtual Teams: People Working Across Boundaries with Technology

Average customer rating:

Useful, but some fluff
Aphoristic
Highly Recommended!
"Teamwork" Re-defined for New Realities
Practical Ideas for Boundary-Crossing Teams

Virtual Teams: People Working Across Boundaries with Technology
Jessica Lipnack , and Jeffrey Stamps
Manufacturer: Wiley
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Similar Items:

Mastering Virtual Teams: Strategies, Tools, and Techniques That Succeed (JOSSEY-BASS BUSINESS & MANAGEMENT SERIES)
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Virtual Teams That Work: Creating Conditions for Virtual Team Effectiveness
Quick Guide to Interaction Styles and Working Remotely: Strategies for Leading and Working in Virtual Teams
Working Virtually: Managing People for Successful Virtual Teams and Organizations

ASIN: 0471388254

Book Description

Praise for the First Edition of Virtual Teams

"If you want to see where organizational communications are going in the future, heed what these pioneers have written today." -Howard Rheingold, author, The Virtual Community, and founder, Electric Mind

"Lipnack and Stamps have written an important book for the twenty-first-century corporation." -Regis McKenna, The McKenna Group, author, Relationship Marketing

"This book provides a long overdue perspective on how to apply the discipline of real teams in the fast-moving, increasingly dispersed information age of the future." -Jon R. Katzenbach, author, The Wisdom of Teams

"For those who want to lead the movement, catch up with it, or simply know where it is going, this book is packed with useful information and interesting stories." -Dee W. Hock, founder and chairman emeritus, VISA

"Virtual Teams provides valuable insights into global teamwork and management through network technologies now available to all companies, large or small." -Jim Lynch, director, corporate quality, Sun Microsystems, Inc.

Customer Reviews:

Useful, but some fluff.......2003-09-28

I purchased this book because I was intrigued. In much of the work I do I am a member of "virtual" teams. That is, I often am some distance apart from the people I am working with.

I found the book to be a slow read, with nuggets of information separated by deserts of fluff. The first half of the book is filled with vague ramblings about how the information age has changed the way that teams work and with case studies that illustrate how the forming of virtual teams has helped various companies solve difficult problems.

In the second half, the book begins to pick up. In a chapter entitled "Teaming with People" the authors discuss team dynamics, including essential roles with a team, how teams form and which aspects of team dynamics are especially subject to the stresses of distance communication.

The authors suggest that the beginning and closing phases of most projects are the most stressful on team members and that extra effort be exerted at the beginning phase of the project to bring the core project team members together, even if they are geographically separated. This, say the authors, will help build interpersonal relationships that can hold the team together in times of stress.

There are several optimum team sizes. 3 to 5 is the size of a core team, 5 to 25 the size of a "team family" and 25 to 200 the size of a "team camp". In the authors' opinion, any team larger than 5 people will naturally divide into sub-teams.

The authors also point out the value of rewarding teams. Making teams compete, or making them completely independent of one another has little value for the company. Cooperative goals can encourage and motivate all of the teams, while competition can demoralize them.

Finally, the authors talk about starting up teams and provide a checklist of some elements such as a customer and a management sponsor which are essential to any team's success.

Overall, I found the book to have some good information on forming and maintaining teams, and what to do when those teams are not located in the same physical location. There is some fluff, I feel, and the book could easily be half its current length without sacrificing much.

Aphoristic.......2001-10-01

I spent many hours with Lipnack & Stamps' Virtual Teams. Lipnack and Stamps are team consultants, and this book is one of their business cards. It's strong on axioms, moderate on bibliographic references, filled with trenchant observations derived from their consulting experiences, and written in a hurried style that reads like a draft or a condensed version of a larger book, despite its 300 pages. The authors provide dozens of taxonomies, some of which are useful and thought provoking, but most not deriving from research data. I obtained one item referenced in the bibliography, a middling-quality correlational study, but noticed the authors were quite creative in their interpretation of its results. Once you get past the aphoristic writing style ("Connected, linked, matrixed. We are the future now. . . Before we know it, 10-year-olds will be running the world. Perhaps they already are. . . The new virtual organizations are at once very old and very new, very small and very large . . . ") you'll find yourself reading many interesting nuggets of information combined with useful advice on how to build and manage a virtual team. I appreciated the fact that Lipnack and Stamps avoided treating the virtual team as a panacea or as a solution to team problems. Their cool approach to the formidable problems faced by distributed groups adroitly avoids the hype in which other authors engage. I also appreciated their extended discussions in the areas where virtual teams suffer the most, including trust and communication across time zones. Leadership got slight treatment, but perhaps for good reason-the DNA of effective leadership in general has yet to be cracked, and is a largely unexplored phenomenon in virtual teams.

Highly Recommended!.......2001-07-11

Globalization can create as many problems as opportunities. One big problem is figuring out how to unite people worldwide to work on projects for your company. In an age that lacked a worldwide communications net, the answer would probably be quite depressing. However, as authors Jessica Lipnack and Jeffrey Stamps make clear, the modern Internet makes it quite possible for workers all over the world to collaborate. The physical location of your firm’s various experts is no longer a barrier to effective team building, be they in Dublin, Bangalore, Las Vegas or Bangkok. In fact, the authors claim that companies that fail to create effective teams across cyberspace will be left in history’s dustbin. This might be overstating the case, but we [...] recommend this book for its candor about exactly how challenging it is to create virtual teams. Still interested? If so, this book serves as an excellent primer of both theory and practice.

"Teamwork" Re-defined for New Realities.......2001-04-06

The authors are convinced that, eventually, "virtual teams will become the natural way to work, nothing special. Virtual teams and networks -- effective, value-based, swiftly reconfiguring, cost-sensitive, and decentralized -- will profoundly reshape our shared world. As members of many virtual groups, we will contribute to these ephemeral webs of relationships that together weave our future." That day is already here for many people and I agree that virtual working relationships will soon be the rule rather than the exception. The authors correctly note that technology extends capabilities "but organizing to do things together is only human. The most profound change of the new millennium is in the way we're organized." Moreover, as more people connect online, "we increase our capacity for both independence and interdependence. Competition and cooperation both thrive in our new culture." However, there are perils to avoid because whatever goes wrong with in-the-same place teams can also go wrong with virtual teams -- only worse and, worse yet, faster and at a much greater cost.

The authors organize their excellent material within 14 chapters whose individual titles indicate each chapter's perspective on virtual teams: Why, Networks, Teams, Trust, Place, Time, Purpose, people, Links, Launch, Navigate, Theory, Think, and Future. I agree that a virtual team "is a group of people who work interdependently with a shared purpose across space, time, and organization boundaries." Nonetheless, I still have some quibbles about the authors' sequence of subject matter (not with the content itself) and am still convinced that cooperation between and among members of virtual teams is even more difficult than it is between and among those within physical boundaries. Moreover, my own rather extensive experience with all manner of corporate clients suggests that the most formidable barriers are between two ears. If you have some serious human barriers in your own organization, I urge you to check out O'Dell and Grayson's immensely thoughtful and practical book, If Only We Knew What We Know.

But please keep in mind that even if O'Dell, Grayson, Lipnack, and Stamps were retained to create virtual teams for your organization, unless and until everyone else involved buys into the enterprise, the results would be abysmal. Hence the importance of several points which Lipnack and Stamps make in the final chapter, notably the absolutely essential need for trust. "A presumption of trust enables a successful strategy of collaboration [enables everyone involved] to be better innovators, competitors, and survivors....If purpose is the glue, trust is the grease." I agree.

Of course, no single volume such as this can provide all the right answers but Lipnack and Stamps raise most (if not all) of the most important questions. Their answers seem sensible and practical. Of course, decision-makers must decide what the nature, extent, and duration of a virtual relationship should be in their organization at any given time. The authors do provide an excellent source of information and insight which can help virtually (pun intended) any organization increase cooperation and collaboration across boundaries through the effective use of various technologies. Especially, in this age of accelerating globalization, most organizations need all the help they can get.

Practical Ideas for Boundary-Crossing Teams.......2000-10-15

The very nature of teams has changed in most organizations. This change is not rooted in the use of technology but rather in organizational changes that require teams that cross all kinds of boundaries: organizational, temporal, geographic, functional, cultural. Virtual Teams focuses on the fundamental issues that challenge members, leaders, and stakeholders in these boundary-crossing teams rather than simply on the technology that connects them. A major strength of the book is the wealth of stories about how key ideas have been applied in both public and private sector organizations. This book offers practical ideas you can apply to any team - whether it is co-located or spread across the world. - Lisa Kimball, Executive Producer, Group Jazz

Making Sense of Change Management: A Complete Guide to the Models, Tools & Techniques of Organizational Change

Average customer rating:

Not Very Practical
Learning to Make the Best of Change
Making Sense?
Basic
A must-have

Making Sense of Change Management: A Complete Guide to the Models, Tools & Techniques of Organizational Change
Esther Cameron , and Mike Green
Manufacturer: Kogan Page
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Workplace | Organizational Behavior | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Organizational Change | Organizational Behavior | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Management | Management & Leadership | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Managing Change and Transition
The Change Management Pocket Guide
Change Management
Strategic Organizational Change, Second Edition
Managing the Change Process: A Field Book for Change Agents, Team Leaders, and Reengineering Managers

ASIN: 0749440872

Book Description

"In business, either you're an agent of change, or you're destined to become a victim of change." -- Norm Brodsky in Inc Magazine

Customer Reviews:

Not Very Practical.......2007-07-03

If you are a practitioner you will not find this book very helpful. It has a number of interesting ideas, but they randomly presented. If you are looking for a more systematic or strategic approach, I'd recommend Beitler's Strategic Organizational Change or Kotter's Leading Change.

Learning to Make the Best of Change.......2007-05-12

Good Book. It presents the reader with seveal different theories and I learned alot about how change takes takes place in the work place. Overall a good book to read for any leader.

Making Sense?.......2007-04-07

I'm not sure it made that much sense. I was looking for a more practical book on how to do it - how to design an organization based on the needs.

Basic.......2007-01-15

This book would be useful if you do not practice as a manager. It provides an elementary overview. If you are a practitioner, I'd recommend Kotter, Beitler, or Bridges.

A must-have.......2007-01-10

This is one of the most useful, accessible and instantly applicable books on change management out there!

It collates quite a few well-published theorems and methodologies in one place, demonstrates the pros and cons of each without going into too much detail, but leaves it to the reader to decide which is appropriate in a given situation and, as a whole, the authors provides you with an unsurpassed collection of tools and models to apply in any given change scenario.

You will find yourself referring back to this again and again.

Managing Virtual Teams: Getting the Most from Wikis, Blogs, and Other Collaborative Tools (Wordware Applications Library)

Average customer rating:

Managing Virtual Teams: Getting the Most from Wikis, Blogs, and Other Collaborative Tools (Wordware Applications Library)
Brenda Huettner , M. Katherine Brown , and Char James-Tanny
Manufacturer: Wordware Publishing, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Workplace | Organizational Behavior | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Management | Management & Leadership | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Teams | Management & Leadership | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Manager's Guides to Computing | Business & Culture | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

General | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Wikinomics: How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything
Wikis For Dummies (For Dummies (Computer/Tech))
Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms
The Wiki Way: Quick Collaboration on the Web
MediaWiki Administrators' Tutorial Guide: Install, manage, and customize your MediaWiki installation

ASIN: 1598220284

Book Description

Virtual collaborative team environments face unique challenges because their communication is not face-to-face. Managing Virtual Teams: Getting the Most from Wikis, Blogs, and Other Collaborative Tools provides practical advice for managers of distributed teams who must design the internal systems and meet deadlines with a diverse team, and for team members who want to develop and maintain professional relationships. To address these needs, this book is divided into three parts. Part I discusses team dynamics, project management and development, and forms of communication. Part II covers the types of tools currently available for collaboration such as wikis, blogs, RSS feeds, and more, and describes the different feature sets of each. Part III explains the various features of the book's companion wiki.

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