World Class Manufacturing: The Lessons of Simplicity Applied

Book Description

In his best-selling book Japanese Manufacturing Techniques, Richard J. Schonberger revolutionized American manufacturing theory and, more important, practice. In that breakthrough book, he revealed that Japanese manufacturing excellence was not culturally bound. Offering the first demystified explanation of the simple techniques that fueled Japan's industrial success, he demonstrated how the same methods could be put to work as effectively in U.S. plants.

Now, in World Class Manufacturing, Schonberger returns to tell the success stories of nearly 100 American corporations -- including Hewlett-Packard, Harley-Davidson, General Motors, Honeywell, and Uniroyal -- that have adopted the famed just-in-time production and "total quality control" strategies. Based on his firsthand experience as a major consultant to American industry, he examines how they did it -- and illustrates how the same concrete, specific steps used by these top companies can be implemented in any factory today. What's more, Schonberger shows that his bold concepts and reforms apply equally to all industries, whether the product is computers, pasta, or trucks, and to all divisions -- from manufacturing and engineering to accounting and marketing.

According to Schonberger, world-class manufacturing depends on blended management -- rather than domination by a separate group of managers -- which marshalls resources for continual rapid improvement. To achieve world-class status, companies must change procedures and concepts, which in turn leads to recasting relations among suppliers, purchasers, producers, and customers. Acknowledging the difficulty inherent in such changes, Schonberger stresses that employee involvement and interaction, both on the shop floor and in the decision-making/problem-solving process, is key. Wary of those who view improvement in terms of modernizing equipment, he points out that making maximum use of people and current machinery is a company's first priority; automation, if necessary, should come much later.

World Class Manufacturing also includes Schonberger's 17-point action agenda to guide innovators toward manufacturing excellence, from getting to know the customer to cutting the number of suppliers, reducing error in production, and deciding when and how to automate.

Indispensable for all manufacturing innovators who aim to keep ahead of the competition, this inspiring, groundbreaking volume does much more than just recommend or theorize about the new manufacturing approach. Plainly, realistically, and logically, it explains how it's done.

Customer Reviews:

Highly Recommended!.......2001-03-15

Richard J. Schonberger, author of the critically acclaimed book, Japanese Manufacturing Techniques, which revolutionized American manufacturing theory and practices, now examines how world-class manufacturing techniques can be implemented by American corporations. This 1986 classic remains valuable, since manufacturing changes do not happen overnight, and plenty of companies are far from world-class in their approach to efficiency and productivity. Schonberger writes clearly, authoritatively and often amusingly, covering every element of world-class manufacturing in detail. We at getAbstract recommend this book for everyone involved in the manufacturing process, not just mangers and executives, but all employees who seek a context and a future for their work.

If you want to manufacture better-- here you go........1996-05-20

I must say that I first read this because I had to, but onceI did it (really, now) changed my outlook on production. The author details not only the whys of good manufacturing practice, but also the hows and then goes into many case studies to demonstrate that he's not just blowing smoke from his ivory tower. Even better, the stuff works! One division of my company got hooked on the "World Class" bandwagon before it came into vogue. I went to tour their facility and I swore I had walked into Schonberger's book. Anyway, applied correctly, this book can turn your systems upside down and make you more profitable than you can almost imagine (inventory turns over 100? Believe it!). The best thing is that all this happens by developing employees and truly giving the line responsibility for production to the individual line workers. Tough stuff for most companies to even consider, and perhaps my only criticism of the book is that the author doesn't give an accurate picture of how long a transition from "traditional" management to World Class Mfg can require. Our facility worked for six years to get it right, which is actually very good for this transition (he says allow for a 10 year plan in his 1996 sequel, also excellent). Anyway, I'm putting theory into practice in my own mfg line, and thankfully I have this book to guide me. I'm buying copies for everyone in my production team and we'll "go back to school," so to speak. Wish me luck.

Work Measurement and Methods Improvement (Engineering Design and Automation)

Average customer rating:

Work Measurement and Methods Improvement (Engineering Design and Automation)
Lawrence S. Aft
Manufacturer: Wiley-Interscience
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

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

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

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

General | Science | Subjects | Books

Industrial | Engineering | New & Used Textbooks | Stores | Books

General | Business & Finance | New & Used Textbooks | Stores | Books

Quantitative Business | Business & Finance | New & Used Textbooks | Stores | Books

All Amazon Upgrade | Amazon Upgrade | Stores | Books

Business & Investing | Amazon Upgrade | Stores | Books

Engineering | Amazon Upgrade | Stores | Books

Professional & Technical | Amazon Upgrade | Stores | Books

Science | Amazon Upgrade | Stores | Books

All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books

Business & Investing | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books

Professional | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books

Science | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
Similar Items:

Process Redesign: The Implementation Guide for Managers (Engineering Process Improvement Series)
Quality Management: Creating and Sustaining Organizational Effectiveness
Motion and Time Study: Design and Measurement of Work
Quality Planning and Analysis
Introduction to Reliability and Maintainability Engineering

ASIN: 0471370894

Book Description

Practical, up-to-date coverage for a new generation of engineering and management professionals.

Lawrence S. Afts Productivity, Measurement, and Improvement has long served as a seminal reference for students and professionals in industrial engineering, quality management, and other related fields. Now Work Measurement and Methods Improvement brings his work right up to date with the demands of todays rapidly changing marketplace, where work measurement and methods improvement have a vital role to play in improving quality and enhancing productivity in a wide range of industries.

Accessible and easy to follow, this book presents solid, practical coverage of the key principles and practices of work measurement. It explains the purpose, use, advantages, and limitations of tools and methods for:

Work analysis-including graphical productivity analysis and work methods improvement
Product measurement-from time study and standard data systems to work sampling and labor reporting issues
Product improvement-ergonomics, incentive systems, continuous improvement, process improvement, and more

Book Description

What is Enterprise Resource Planning and why does it matter? Like The Goal, Why ERP? is a short novel about a manager in a furniture manufacturing business who is charged with learning about and implementing a new ERP system, SAP R/3. The story tells of his experience and provides a non-technical, non-programming introduction to the basic concepts and architecture of ERP systems.

Customer Reviews:

Outstanding Introduction to the Enterprise Software Concept.......2005-09-07

I am a Professor in the Management Information Systems area and I use this book as a quick and relatively painless introduction for students who know absolutely nothing about the software that supports Integrated Business Systems. It is an excellent read for that purpose. It focuses on why Enterprise Systems are valuable for some companies, the dangers of blind adoption, the value and power of systems integration, and some of the costs associated with implementing these systems. Just as important, it does this in an interesting way. At least more interesting to my students, who are either dual majors in business administration and information systems or straight majors in some area of business administration. While the other reviewers are correct in their blistering reviews of the book from a technologist's perspective, the book is not written for technologists. As the title suggests, it is a primer and primers are written at the most elementary level.

I have not come across a better book for someone with no knowledge of Integrated Business Systems to learn quickly in 119 pages what Enterprise Systems are about.

REVIEW FOR STUDENTS.......2005-04-21

I read this book as a requirement for my Management Informations Systems class. While it is a dry read, I acknowlege that it was a noble effort to present the information in the form of a novel. Do not read this book if you are an expert on SAP or very familiar with ERP systems. This is little more than a text book put in the form of one large example. Keep your expectations low and you'll be fine.

Why ask why?.......2004-10-28

I picked up this little jewel hoping to learn something about SAP's R/3 product and believe me, it took some serious effort to plow my way through this loathsome tale. The Goal has been done to death by everyone, including Goldratt, and this book is a pale imitation of that classic novel. If you know absolutely nothing about MRP or ERP, then this book might be helpful. It does motivate the need for such systems and production controls in general. The book also has some screen shots of SAP's product, so at least you'll have some basic familiarity with that system before you see it on a workstation. I think I'd rather read the User's Guide to R/3 (or to my VCR) than read this book.

Why ERP? No, really, why ERP?.......2003-11-13

I wouldn't even make paper airplanes with this book - because they would suck too. When millions of books were burned in WWII, why did they miss this one?

Not a good read, pick up The Goal or Better Together instead.

This Book Sucks.......2003-11-13

Why ERP? Because I didn't have a choice as to read it or not. I'd rather take a bath in gasoline and light myself on fire than read this thing again.

Six Sigma Team Dynamics: The Elusive Key to Project Success

Average customer rating:

Insightful!
Great book to build great six sigma teams !
Insightful!
Eckes Fills Critical Void in Six Sigma Literature
A Must for the Library

Six Sigma Team Dynamics: The Elusive Key to Project Success
George Eckes , and Sandra Derickson
Manufacturer: Wiley
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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

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

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

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

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

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

Entrepreneurship | Small Business & Entrepreneurship | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

All Amazon Upgrade | Amazon Upgrade | Stores | Books

Business & Investing | Amazon Upgrade | Stores | Books

All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books

Business & Investing | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
Similar Items:

Making Six Sigma Last: Managing the Balance Between Cultural and Technical Change (Six Sigma Research Institute Series)
General Electric's Six Sigma Revolution: How General Electric and Others Turned Process Into Profits
Six Sigma for Everyone
Six Sigma Execution
Statistics for Six Sigma Made Easy

ASIN: 0471222771

Book Description

A full, expert discussion of the last major component of Six Sigma implementation
George Eckes' first two books on Six Sigma-The Six Sigma Revolution and Making Six Sigma Last-dealt with Six Sigma from a strategic level and from a cultural level, respectively. Six Sigma Team Dynamics covers the last component of Six Sigma-improving team processes. The successful completion of Six Sigma depends on teams working together and applying a proven methodology that defines, measures, analyzes, improves, and controls the process. These team dynamics and the roles and responsibilities of all constituencies are the last remaining key to successful Six Sigma implementation.

Customer Reviews:

Insightful!.......2004-06-09

This book is one of the few thorough, detailed, systematic guides to team leadership in the context of Six Sigma. Those assigned to lead or participate in Six Sigma teams will find it hands-on practical and consistently useful. To use this specific approach to team management, you need to be familiar with the Six Sigma concept and process already. Then, this straightforward, explanatory manual will take you step by step, list by list, through the task of facilitating a successful team, from establishing a plan to dealing with problem personalities. It isn't exactly juicy reading, except for the lively illustrative anecdotes, and the grammar is occasionally awkward given the jargon involved, but this focused package of instructions will help you get the job done effectively and efficiently. We recommend it enthusiastically to managers who are embarking upon, or already involved in, a Six Sigma team management process.

Great book to build great six sigma teams !.......2003-11-06

This book is a must read for everyone who works on projects...
George Eckes explains how meetings could be drastically improved, how to prepare a meeting, how a project should start, live... What are the important check-points...
I have personnaly used the methods described in this book and I'm now totally convinced that a team well driven can boost the performance a lot higher than initial assumptions...
Don't miss it, it's a great opportunity to learn more about human aspects of six sigma...

Insightful!.......2003-10-15

Eckes Fills Critical Void in Six Sigma Literature.......2003-01-08

Whether new to Six Sigma or working in an established deployment, this book is for you. Until now, no books have confronted the Six Sigma Team function issue head on. Kudos to George Eckes for identifying this critical gap and plugging it!

As an established deployment leader at a large firm, I can attest to the fact that team dynamics is one of the biggest factors in success or failure of Six Sigma projects. Eckes' book is an easy read, using a fictional team throughout that keeps the reading light and interesting, while imparting valuable tools and techniques to improve your teams. From clarifying roles and responsibilities of team participants to providing specific intervention techniques for maladaptive behaviors, this book is packed with things you can use today. No matter what role you play on a Six Sigma team - Champion, Black/Green Belt, or Master Black Belt - you will find keys to better team interactions to allow you to deliver the results your company needs to succeed.

Terrific bonuses include common pitfalls in team dynamics you should avoid, a list of 95 questions champions should ask their project teams and tools templates you can put to work to improve your information flow.

This book is now required reading for all our Master Black Belts and soon to be incorporated in to our Champion eduction. If you want to improve your team's results, I highly recommend this book.

A Must for the Library.......2002-12-07

I really enjoyed reading this book. It flows easy and the concepts are practical. This book makes helps put the team side of Six Sigma into focus. There are plenty of tools books, but few to help the team leader (Black Belt) deal with the facilitation side of the project. The examples and recommendations are a great help. I consider this a must for a good Six Sigma library.

Goldratt's Theory of Constraints: A Systems Approach to Continuous Improvement

Average customer rating:

high thickness to content ratio
This really _IS_ Brain Surgery!!!
A sound theory and practical methods
Root-Cause Analysis and Reality Trees
Tools for reaching The Goal!

Goldratt's Theory of Constraints: A Systems Approach to Continuous Improvement
H. William Dettmer
Manufacturer: ASQ Quality Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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

General | Popular Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Macroeconomics | Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

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

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

General | Reference | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

General | Psychology & Counseling | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

Occupational & Organizational | Psychology & Counseling | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

Industrial Psychology | Psychology & Counseling | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

General | Reference | Subjects | Books

All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books

Business & Investing | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books

Reference | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
Similar Items:

Breaking the Constraints to World-Class Performance
Theory of Constraints
Critical Chain : A Business Novel
It's Not Luck
The Goal

ASIN: 0873893700

Book Description

Organizations live or die as systems not processes. Their success or failure is a function of how well the different component processes interact with one another. Real quality improvement isn't possible without the knowledge that comes from an understanding of the theory of knowledge, knowledge of variation, an understanding of psychology, and appreciation for systems. Goldratt's Theory of Constraints addresses best-selling author Eli Goldratt's unique approach to dramatically improving corporate performance, found throughout his books, The Goal (North River, 1992) and It's Not Luck (North River, 1994). This book thoroughly explains the theory of constraints, as well as detailing for the reader exactly how to problem solve using TOC.

Customer Reviews:

high thickness to content ratio.......2007-09-13

This book is padded to 378 pages. It is repetitive with long summaries and example at the end of each chapter. A table of contents at the begining of each chapter. Rhetoric questions in the text. Diagrams for simple ideas that don't need them.
I was looking for a book to explain the basics of TOC and to this end the book was helpful - it just could have been half the size.

This really _IS_ Brain Surgery!!!.......2006-12-20

Some folks who just now may be getting to know the Theory of Constraints (TOC) might be surprised at what they find in this book. Open it at random to any page, and you are looking at a diagram of some sort! This text is not about bottle necks and constraints; it is not about Critical Chain Project Management (CCPM). Rather, it is about the "Thinking Tools" of TOC.

So many great philosophies and theories of management become fashionable -- only then to suffer the indignity of superficial implementations at the hands of hasty zealots. TQM and Lean are two examples of important movements which were the basis of many failed projects in industry. In the final analysis, "Knowing what you are talking about" is often the missing ingredient. Moreover, when you are struggling to get "out of the box," how can you be sure you don't fall victim to the same assumptions (to your own self-deceptions) that put you there in the first place?

Dettmer's cornerstone text "Goldratt's Theory of Constraints: A Systems Approach to Continuous Improvement" takes you in [baby] steps through the entire TOC Thinking Process. Many will find this process excruciating perhaps, but this is what it takes. There are five graphical tools, five different [network] trees, one uses to analyze problems and solutions, and the especially important path between these two "realities." Dettmer takes great care to show you how to be sure of every single piece of your puzzle as you seek honestly to characterize your Current Reality, the Future Reality, the Prerequisites, and the Transition (the step-by-step plan). These represent four of the "Trees" (CRT, FRT, PRT, TT), and the Conflict Resolution Diagram (CRD) is the fifth. In addition to these, Dettmer explains the "Categories of Legitimate Reservation," which are the logic rules one uses to guide the TOC Thinking Process.

On page 22 Dettmer says, "These trees, the Categories of Legitimate Reservation, and how to use them is the subject of this book." Indeed, it really is. Nearly 400 pages of precision, it's no barrel of laughs; I can tell you that! But after scanning a dozen other books for exactly how to do this, I was happy to find someone who finally was willing to bite the bullet and get it done.

Plus, he knows what he is talking about.

Once you have the Transition Tree, you'll possibly want to formulate and track your implementation project using the Critical Chain Project Management (CCPM) methods of TOC (as opposed to the failure prone Critical Path Method). There are many books on that subject. And there are now CCPM Add-Ins for Microsoft Project from several companies. But it would be easy to question your plan if it were not subjected to the same degree of rigorous analysis described by Dettmer's book. In the final analysis, "Knowing what you are talking about" is all too often the missing ingredient.

A sound theory and practical methods.......2006-01-20

This is a very readable book for which we intend to build courseware around. The book is laid out in a logical and progressive order. Each chapter table of contents can be used as headers for class notes. At the end of each chapter, there's an excellent summary and graphic diagrams or tables that can be used as jobaids. If you read, understand, and apply the information in this book it will definetely enable you to make more accurate assessements of "undesirable effects" and propose sensible solutions.

Root-Cause Analysis and Reality Trees.......2005-09-10

Dettmer's discussion on finding root causes of undesirable conditions or effects is the best I've seen. It's easy to go down a rathole when trying to drill into a set of what appears to be causes of the undisirable conditions. He also shows strong value of using reality trees to define what is and how we might be able to get to what ought to be.

Tucson, Arizona

Tools for reaching The Goal!.......2004-04-23

Many readers are familiar with Eliyahu Goldratt's hugely successful business novels The Goal and Its Not Luck. In these two books and his non-fiction work, Goldratt presents his "Theory of Constraints" and examples of how to apply it in practice.

Until now, Goldratt fans have had limited options for putting the Theory of Constraints into practice. Developing the methodology from the limited treatments in the novels may work in simple situations, but is unlikely to achieve its full potential in all but the most straightforward applications. True believers can take several days of formal training at the Goldratt Institute and earn the "Jonah" credential, but this approach is beyond the budgets and zeal of many.

Between these extremes, the American Society for Quality has published two very useful books by H. William Dettmer: Goldratt's Theory of Constraints - A Systems Approach to Continuous Improvement and Breaking the Constraints to World-Class Performance. Each is a superb tool, but they are appropriate for different audiences.

The first book, Goldratt's Theory of Constraints, is a thorough, textbook style treatment of how to develop the logic trees that underlie all Theory of Constraints analyses. It is most useful to people who will apply the Theory of Constraints in their organizations and want "how-to" training. It is also appropriate for a graduate level course in the methodology. The diagrams and graphics in the book are excellent and are critical to its usefulness.

The second book, Breaking the Constraints..., is aimed at general business readers and senior managers who want to understand the Theory of Constraints and its potential for improving an organization, but do not need the full complement of tools to become a full-fledged "Jonah". The book makes excellent use of case studies and examples. It, too, boasts diagrams and graphics that are essential to its value.

Breaking the Constraints..., will appeal to the wider audience. It is appropriate for readers who are interested in the Theory of Constraints, but want to have a deeper understanding of it before deciding to make it a core element of their approach to quality. It is also a tool to help champions of the Theory of Constraints educate both team members and bosses.

Both books will appeal to Theory of Constraints practitioners, while Breaking the Constraints... is more appropriate for the reader with an interest in the topic, but who will not be leading the team applying it.

Customer Reviews:

Informative for improvement in production.......2007-09-05

I've got to improve a production assembly line and we are applying for the cellular manufacturing.
Since I hadn't have a knowledge for that, I purchased this book to learn how to apply and what to do.

The guidelines of how to apply was so helpful to me 'cause it was described step by step.

Excellent tutorial guide.......2001-08-09

This is an excellent tutorial guide to "one-piece flow" concept. For that purpose it is excellent. In its quest for ideological purity, it fails to consider the more difficult (and useful) problem of "optimal lot size", typical real world manufacturing processes. Had the authors put in a short chapter on that issue, I would have given it five stars.

The Strategic Project Office: A Guide to Improving Organizational Performance (CENTER FOR BUSINESS PRACTICES)

Average customer rating:

A solid book
Consulting Drivel
The Strategic Project Office - A Guide to Organizational Per

The Strategic Project Office: A Guide to Improving Organizational Performance (CENTER FOR BUSINESS PRACTICES)
J. Kent Crawford
Manufacturer: CRC
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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

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

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

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

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

General | Popular Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Entrepreneurship | Small Business & Entrepreneurship | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

General | Engineering | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books

All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books

Business & Investing | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books

Computers & Internet | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books

Professional | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
Similar Items:

Creating the Project Office: A Manager's Guide to Leading Organizational Change (Jossey Bass Business and Management Series)
The Complete Project Management Office Handbook, Second Edition (Esi International Project Management Series)
The Project Management Scorecard: Measuring the Success of Project Management Solutions (Improving Human Performance)
The Advanced Project Management Office: A Comprehensive Look at Function and Implementation
Advanced Project Portfolio Management and the PMO: Multiplying ROI at Warp Speed

ASIN: 0824707508

Book Description

Describing the initiation, design, execution, and control of a strategic project office, this book provides step-by-step instructions for establishing a PMO. The author emphasizes cost management, cultural change, risk assessment, resource allocation, and skills tracking to increase project value, organizational efficiency, and productivity. He explores various aspects relating to planning and implementing the strategic project office, and concludes by considering how to change the organizational culture to match the new organization. Concise and easy, the book covers the many pitfalls and minefields and provide strategies to avoid them.

Customer Reviews:

A solid book.......2007-09-01

I really liked this book. It provides what the name implies... a "strategic" overview of how to use the project office to "improve organizational performance". It's not the biggest book so don't expect an encyclopedia of project office knowledge, but from an organizational leader perspective, it seems to hit the mark for me.

Consulting Drivel.......2003-05-30

Imagine this: a consultant that sells project management offices writing a book to tell us about how great they are. Kind of like a 1990s stock analyst boasting about how great a telecom company's stock is just after his buddy in the investmant bank did the IPO.

This book is nothing more than a white paper selling PMOs. The findings paint a rosy picture for project managers, but it does not actually approach strategy credibly from a VP's point-of view, let alone that of a CEO (i.e. the people who develop strategies).

Furthermore, this book has no substance nor credible analysis behind its findings. Just because a company puts credence behind its PMO does not make it "strategic," regardless of where it's located in the corporate hierarchy. Strategy is the material of Michael Porter, Clay Christensen, Peter Drucker, Dave Teece, etc., and they're not talking about PMOs. The material presented in the book may be of some interest for rank-and-file project managers, but it's definitely not a book about developing and executing strategy.

The Strategic Project Office - A Guide to Organizational Per.......2003-02-28

I thought I had a pretty complete library on Project Management and the PMO. However, this is the most authoritive volume I have encountered. There are step by step instructions and direction on establishing a PMO and best practices within that organization. There are also many of the pitfalls and minefields associated with starting this type of office. The chapters are easy to read, and concise. The information is well organized and presented best suited to a mid-level professional involved in PMO or Project Management activities.
I wholeheartedly recomend this to those who have never setup a PMO or best practices organization. Those who have much experience in this fields may be looking for other specialized topics.

New Directions for Organization Theory: Problems and Prospects

Average customer rating:

New Directions for Organization Theory: Problems and Prospects
Jeffrey Pfeffer
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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

Theory | Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

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

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

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

Social Psychology & Interactions | Psychology & Counseling | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

General | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

General | Behavioral Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books

All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books

Business & Investing | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books

Nonfiction | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books

Science | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
Similar Items:

The External Control of Organizations: A Resource Dependence Perspective (Stanford Business Classics)
Organizations
Organization Theory: Modern, Symbolic, and Postmodern Perspectives
Multilevel Theory, Research, and Methods in Organizations: Foundations, Extensions, and New Directions
Behavioral Theory of the Firm

ASIN: 0195114345

Book Description

In New Directions for Organization Theory, Jeffrey Pfeffer offers a comprehensive analysis and overview of the field of organization theory and its research literature. This work traces the evolution of organization studies, particularly its more recent history, and highlights the principle concepts and controversies characterizing the study of organizations. Pfeffer argues that the world of organizations has changed in several important ways, including the increasing externalization of employment and the growing use of contingent workers; the changing size distribution of organizations, with a larger proportion of smaller organizations; the increasing influence of external capital markets on organizational decision-making and a concomitant decrease in managerial autonomy; and increasing salary inequality within organizations in the US compared both to the past and to other industrialized nations. These changes and their public policy implications make it especially important to understand organizations as social entities. But Pfeffer questions whether the research literature of organization studies has either addressed these changes and their causes or made much of a contribution to the discussion of public policy. New Directions for Organization Theory provides a clear, accessible summary of the current state of organization studies, skillfully synthesizing diverse research and presenting it in an orderly, insightful manner. It offers suggestions for the development of the field, including a call to focus more on issues of design and to use the ability to understand real phenomena to help distinguish among theoretical approaches. A major scholar in the field of organization theory, Jeffrey Pfeffer offers a perspective on its current state that will be of interest and value to scholars and graduate students interested in organizations.

Time to take control: The impact of change on corporate computer systems

Average customer rating:

Time to take control: The impact of change on corporate computer systems
Tony Johnson
Manufacturer: Butterworth-Heinemann
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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

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

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

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

MIS | Industries & Professions | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Culture | Business & Culture | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

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

General | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

All Amazon Upgrade | Amazon Upgrade | Stores | Books

Business & Investing | Amazon Upgrade | Stores | Books

Computers & Internet | Amazon Upgrade | Stores | Books

Nonfiction | Amazon Upgrade | Stores | Books
ASIN: 0750698632

Book Description

Time to Take Control provides reasonable and effective guidelines for successfully using computers to improve the workplace. This is a perfect book for anyone who wants to increase the productivity and flexibility of their business.

The author maintains an Internet Web site, designed as a forum and bulletin for the latest papers and research on the subject as it develops.

Explores the role of computers in corporate change.
Provides guidelines for those wishing to realign corporate computer systems to a new level of flexibility as change becomes a way of life.
Shows how these guidelines are pragmatic and proven.

Quality Is Personal: A Foundation For Total Quality Management

Average customer rating:

Roberts and Sergesketter have done an excellent job!
Self-Experimentation Applied to Self-Improvement
Quality is Personal

Quality Is Personal: A Foundation For Total Quality Management
Harry Roberts
Manufacturer: Free Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

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

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

All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books

Business & Investing | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
Similar Items:

Memory Jogger: A Pocket Guide of Tools for Continuous Improvement (Memory Jogger)
The Leader's Handbook: Making Things Happen, Getting Things Done
The Five Pillars of TQM: How to Make Total Quality Management Work for You
Introduction to Communications Technologies: A Guide for Non-Engineers
The Team Handbook Third Edition

ASIN: 0029266254

Customer Reviews:

Roberts and Sergesketter have done an excellent job!.......2005-09-21

This is a splendid volume. Harry Roberts and Bernard Sergesketter have written an excellent and helpful book. The great strength of the book is that the reader gets to apply the ideas for themself, not just in an "organizational fashion." Introducing the idea of a Personal Quality Checklist, the authors discuss how to manage self-improvement in a data-based way. In the process they dispense a good amount of useful wisdom about improvement, quality and psychology.

Strongly recommended. It is easy to build individual or team-based projects in courses based on the idea - and to give the students the opportunity to actually apply the tools they are learning about. And the best method of learning involves doing!

Self-Experimentation Applied to Self-Improvement.......2005-09-13

The late Harry V. Roberts and Mr. Sergesketter have written an outstanding book. Intended in part as an introduction for managers to how quality improvement programs FEEL for workers, it does much more. It is an introduction to systematic self-improvement for those looking for provable results.

The approach is simple. It starts with the "Personal Quality Checklist", an idea that goes back at least as far as Benjamin Franklin. The goal is to eliminate defects and reduce cycle times on repetitive personal processes. The means is systematic record-keeping. The personal processes could be brushing one's teeth, being on-time for appointments, maintenance of an exercise program. In other cases the focus might be on defects, such as saying "like" as an interjection in speech (as in, "I was, like, soooo bored, dude.") or fidgeting in class or at a meeting.

The book takes various ideas from the quality movement in industry and illustrates or suggests their application in personal processes.

I am sure that the very idea of this will upset some folks. They probably aren't going to be persuaded. But, if, like me, you are skeptical of most over-blown self-help books and courses, this modest, semi-scientific approach may be just the ticket for demonstrable, lasting self-improvement.

If it was good enough for Ben Franklin, ....

Quality is Personal.......2001-07-20

This is a life-changing guide to quality in simple relatable terms. I always thought Quality was an enterprise thing and it didn't relate to me, the individual. It has helped me address everything from responding to requests on time to routine exercise and weight control. A must read for anyone who believes in quality principles. Everyone talks quality but to apply it personally is to truly understand the word.

Books:

Books Index

Books Home

Recommended Books