Product Description
In this instant-communication world, buzz means business! And one of the greatest ways to get customers and potential customers buzzing about your business is with a Web log, commonly called a blog. Blogs can help you:

• Introduce the people behind your business
• Discuss relevant issues
• Provide a clearinghouse for information and expertise
• Show your business as a good corporate citizen
• Support an exchange of ideas
• Get honest feedback from your customers
• Affect public opinion

If you’re new to blogging, or if you know the mechanics of a blog but want some help refining and targeting yours, Buzz Marketing With Blogs For Dummies will get you going right away. An expert blogger shows you the ins and outs of putting together a professional-looking blog, walks you through the jargon, helps you decide what your blog should do, and even explains various software solutions. You’ll find out how to:

• Set up and maintain a blog, write in blogging style, and observe blogging etiquette
• Define your audience and target your blog to reach them
• Involve your customers, earn their trust, educate the public, and build community
• Avoid possible legal pitfalls while keeping your blog interesting
• Encourage contributions and links to your blog
• Use images and design an eye-catching format
• Optimize your blog for top search engine ratings, track your results, and measure your success

Written by Susannah Gardner, who has taught online journalism, directed multimedia efforts, and provided custom Web solutions to clients, Buzz Marketing With Blogs For Dummies even shares tips from the experts who establish and maintain some of the top-rated business blogs. You’ll discover the secrets of success, how to spot and solve problems, what software can enhance your blogging life, and a whole lot more. It like having a staff of experts on call! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (10)

Great Resource for Readers of All Levels
Hi there! Interested in blogging but don't know how? Congrats, here is the book that will get you started right away! Been blogging for a while now but want to find out ways to enhance your blog and drive more traffic to it? Awesome, you have found the resource to help you do both! Or just want to know exactly what the heck is a blog or blogging in general? Great, this book is for you too!

Though this is not the end-all, be-all guide to blogging, Buzz Marketing with Blogs For Dummies by Susannah Gardner is a nevertheless a pretty comprehensive book on blogging and buzz marketing with blogs for readers of all levels. It is well researched and provides ample examples to ensure that you understand what you need to know in order to start blogging or to enhance your blogs

Though I give this book five stars, it is not without its flaws. There are sprinkles of typos throughout the text. But it is not egregious enough to throw you off by an means.

If you peruse this book chapter by chapter, it will definitely appear redundant. Yes, Ms. Gardner will sound like a broken record, monotonously repeating herself a bazillion times. This, however, is by design. She explains it in her introduction. But if you're similarly impatient like me, chances are you probably almost always skip over the preface or introduction in order to dive into the crux of the matter.

In her introduction, this is what she says in defense of her "needless repetition":

"Chances are the fact that you bought this book means you have some ideas about starting a blog--and I want to get you started right away! You don't have to memorize this book or even read it in order. Feel free to skip straight to the chapter with the information you need and come back to the beginning later. Each chapter is designed to give you easy answers and guidance, accompanied by step-by-step instructions for specific tasks."

In other words, Ms. Gardner designed this text as a reference, meaning you are not supposed to read it like a novel (although you are certainly free to do so). To take full advantage of this text, she encourages you to jump around the text, looking for what you need and reading it. This is the gist of her introduction. So feel free to skip it. Once you get a copy of this book, go to the table of contents, look for what you need, and get started right away!

If you want to learn more about blogging from a different perspective, check out The Huffington Post Complete Guide to Blogging. I just finished reading the first few chapters. So far so good! It's turning out to be a great complement to this book.

Easy and Clear
This book is easy to read and understand.It gives a good overview of ways to use your blog in marketing products, but in some areas it was too technical for me to understand (it doesn't take much for it to be too technical) and in other areas it was too obvious.I read it--it didn't take that long, but it's not a book I will use for reference again and again. I could have used less html coding and more URLs to visit.

Good for someone just starting out
I got this book thinking that it could help me with my exisiting business. I would say that I'm pretty knowledgable about blogs (which are popular, how to read them, where to find them, how posting often helps increase the hits, etc). This book covered everything I already knew in one place. So if you know what I know and a little more, don't waste your money with this book. If you are completly new to blogging, this is a good foundation.

Holy Moley! What a book
Are you kidding me!?!???This is one great book.For a never before blogger this book helped me setup, start and gave me strategies to develop my presence and increase my business.I feel like I need to pay Susannah a referral fee - I am a Realtor after all.Fortunately in Iowa a referral fee to a nonlicnesed person is illegal.I have read this and read this, I use it for reference and it is so highlighted that I am now having to use different highlighter colors to try to keep up with the topics.Oh, I just need to buy another one and color code it.If you are even thinking about blogging get this book, block out a weekend, take lots of notes, and have at lease 5 highlighter colors!

Veryhelpful and insightful
Well researched, too. Good primer for getting up to speed. ... Read more

Product Description
Creating Teams with an Edge: The Complete Skill Set to Build Powerful and Influential Teams

Teams can be a driving force for organizational performance-and managers can play a key role in teams' ultimate success or failure. Highlighting the latest research on team development and dynamics-and including hands-on tools for improving communication, resolving conflicts, promoting interdependence, and more-this guide will help managers at all levels to motivate teams to achieve higher performance.

The Harvard Business Essentials series is for managers at all levels but is especially relevant for new managers. It offers on-the-spot guidance, coaching, and tools on the most relevant topics in business. Each book includes the critical information that managers need on a given topic-from budgeting to hiring to communication to strategy-and offers interactive tools and worksheets that translate advice into action. Providing ready answers to day-to-day issues, these guides make sound, trusted mentoring advice available whenever managers need it.

Other Books in the HBE Series:
Managing Change and Transition
Hiring and Keeping the Best People
Finance for Managers
Business Communications
Innovation
Negotiation ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

The basics of team-based work
This helpful guide from the Harvard Business Essentials Series will put you on the right track, whether you have just been assigned to a team or are considering forming a team to tackle a project. The writing is clear and concise, the advice is solid and the business principles are spot on. If you seek a guide about how to put a team together, get a project underway and manage it to fruition, you would be hard pressed to find better fundamental information in so few pages. We recommend this book to all aspiring team leaders, team members and managers.

A solid and concise text and effective teams
This is a very solid guide from the folks at Harvard Business School Press that provides the basics of how to create, use, and manage teams.It opens with a discussion of what a team is and is not (workgroups are not teams, for example) and the kind of work that teams are best suited for.The book also lays out the essentials for creating a team and what kinds of things the company must provide for it to succeed.Too many companies form teams and then proceed to undermine their work every step of the way.So, if you are going to be responsible for a team, this material can be vital to you before you agree to head out into the wilderness of your project.

The information on how to form, constitute, and launch a team is terrific as is the advice supplied for the team manager.The first key is that the team leader is never to be in the "boss" role.The material provided on how to function as a team, how to work in a virtual team, and why you have to be a great team member to be an effective team leader is also very good.

This is a solid, concise, and basic text that can help anyone get their team off to a great start and to avoid most of the land mines as you do you work.

Reviewed by Craig Matteson, Ann Arbor, MI

The Art and Science of Effective Teamwork
This is one of the volumes in the new Harvard Business Essentials Series. Each offers authoritative answers to the most important questions concerning its specific subject. The material in this book is drawn from a variety of sources which include the Harvard Business School Press and the Harvard Business Review as well as Harvard ManageMentor®, an online service. I strongly recommend the official Harvard Business Essentials Web site (www.elearning.hbsp.org/businesstools) which offers free interactive versions of tools, checklists, and worksheets cited in this book and other books in the Essentials series. Each volume is indeed "a highly practical resource for readers with all levels of experience." And each is by intent and in execution solution-oriented. Although I think those who have only recently embarked on a business career will derive the greatest benefit, the material is well-worth a periodic review by senior-level executives.

Credit Richard Luecke with pulling together a wealth of information and counsel from various sources. He is also the author of several other books in the Essentials series. In this instance, he was assisted by a subject advisor, Jeff Polzer, who is an associate professor of organizational behavior at Harvard Business School. Together, they have carefully organized the material as follows.

Team Concepts: Understand These First
Essentials for an Effective Team: The Foundations of Success
Forming the Team: The Crew and Its Charter
Getting Off on the Right Foot: Important First Steps
Team Management Challenges: Where Leaders [and Leadership] Matter
Operating as a Team: Putting Ideas [and Insights] to Work
The Virtual Team: A Collaborative Challenge
Becoming a Team Player: Your Most Important Assignment

Please note the sequence of subjects addressed. Luecke and Polzer offer a step-by-step process which is cohesive, comprehensive, and cost-effective. Throughout their narrative, they provide an abundance of observations, suggestions, caveats, strategies, tactics, and checklists which really do comprise "the complete skill set to build powerful and influential teams." Then in the three appendices, they provide useful implementation tools, a guide to effective coaching, and a "Troubleshooting Guide" because any human enterprise -- especially one which requires effective cooperation, collaboration, and communication -- is certain to encounter all manner of problems, especially when those initiatives challenge what Jim O'Toole has characterized as "the ideology of comfort and the tyranny of custom."

This volume will be most valuable to decision-makers in those organizations (regardless of size or nature) which are either planning to respond to opportunities as well as problems by creating "a team with an edge," or, are now thinking about doing so. I know of no other single volume which can be of greater assistance to those decision-makers, whatever their current circumstances may be. That said, it would be foolish to depend entirely on a single source for guidance, albeit one as insightful and practical as this one is. Rigorous, sometimes painful soul-searching must first be completed. In a perfect world, everyone in a given organization cooperates, collaborates, and communicates effectively. In reality, that is true of very few organizations. For all others, a team can be created and then generously supported whose mission is to solve a given problem or exploit an opportunity but one which, in process, also demonstrates HOW to complete any other mission with effective cooperation, collaboration, and communication.

Those who share my high regard for this volume are urged to check out all other volumes in Harvard Business Essentials Series as well as O'Toole's Leading Change, Evan I. Schwartz's Juice: The Creative Fuel That Drives World-Class Inventors, Jon R. Katzenbach and Douglas K. Smith's The Wisdom of Teams: Creating the High-Performance Organization, Warren Bennis and Patricia Ward Biederman's Organizing Genius: The Secrets of Creative Collaboration, Dorothy A. Leonard, Walter C. Swap's When Sparks Fly: Harnessing the Power of Group Creativity,Gary Harpst's Six Disciplines for Excellence, Carla O'Dell's If Only We Knew What We Know: The Transfer of Internal Knowledge and Best Practice, and Jason Jennings' Think Big, Act Small: How America's Best Performing Companies Keep the Start-up Spirit Alive.

A solid book about Teams
I enjoyed this book about teams, it provided very good overal information on all of the different stages teams go through from start to finish.The book also included things that must be done, and things to avoid.

This book will prepare the reader well to tackle challenging tasks with their teams.It will help determine what should be done individually, as a work group or as a team.Something I have personally experienced myself that they covered really well is the need to define the projet well as you assemble your teams, and also to define measures of success, roles, communcations methods and decision rules to be used by the team leader - Team leaders will find it very useful.

Also a small section on vitual teams working together remotely which I think could have been more extensive, but still covered all of the needs of a virtual team, including the need to meet face to face at the start of the project to build the teamwork and cooperation spirit of the team.

What I did not like?The main thing is that the book looked at teams mostly from the point of view of a large organization.Not much talk about small teams operating from small to medium enterprises, and how smaller and more flexible teams can also bring great benefits.

Comments and your feel about this book?email me to discuss.

Thanks

A very good book on teams overall. ... Read more

Product Description
The fastest growing sector of the financial services industry requires professionals from the fastest growing industry in history. There are reports of a shortage of private bankers and wealth managers across the globe and consequently a shortage of business-aligned IT professionals that support the business. Private banks and wealth management firms are stocking up on IT staff - and they're less fussy. "Business Knowledge for IT in Private Wealth Management" is packed with information that will ensure that IT professionals become as knowledgeable about the business of private wealth management as their business counterparts. The information contained therein includes: overview of private wealth management including discussions of boutique PWMs and family offices; recent trends in the private management industry; portfolio construction; and, regulatory and tax issues and the systems used in private wealth management firms and family offices.Contributors to this book include Chris Skinner of Balatro, International Private Banking Systems, Odyssey , Thomson, Pyxis Mobile, Taylor Young Investments, Oracle, FinObjects , Pulse Software and more.'"Business Knowledge for IT in Private Wealth Management" is an invaluable handbook for professionals working in private wealth management and crossovers. It is targeted at IT professionals such as: Project Managers; Application Developers; Development Managers; Test Managers; Business Analysts; Data Analysts; Systems Analysts; Test Analysts; Support Analysts; Database Administrators; and, HR staff responsible for IT recruitment. This book is concise ensuring that readers don't get distracted by superfluous information. ... Read more

Product Description
There is a huge potential for IT to transform businesses through creating opportunities to do new things, to improve existing ways of working and to reduce costs. However, there is a huge gap to cross between the opportunity to deliver business value from IT and the reality of the benefits actually achieved. Most IT projects fail to deliver the benefits expected of them and in 60-80% of cases the project delivers no benefit at all. For senior business and IT managers responsible for the delivery of IT-based projects, this briefing provides the concepts, insights and practical guidance you need to ensure they deliver business value. ... Read more

Product Description
The success of any organization most often depends on the execution and management of such strategic issues as business development, personnel and fiscal operations.This new book introduces readers to the duties and practices assigned to service managers in the successful operation of an automotive service facility.Coverage begins with a general discussion of the management structure and the service manager's role in facility operations.Consideration is then given to navigation of the personnel process from the recruitment of workers to supervision of their performance.The financial business practices of a service manager familiarizes readers with the importance of fiscal responsibility in the operation of a lucrative automotive service business. ... Read more

Product Description
Anderson builds the book around a framework of understanding, creating, and delivering value.
Viewed from an international perspective—rather than a purely American one—Business Market Management draws upon best business practices, allowing readers to understand cultural and regional differences. Topics include: market sensing, understanding firms as customers, crafting market strategy, managing market offerings, business channel management, gaining customers, and sustaining reseller and customer relationships.
For marketing directors, marketing managers, employees in marketing departments, customer service representatives, and owners/managers of firms, international or American.

... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Not relevant to the reality of B2B market management
The authors do focus on an important topic - that of creating value to the customer.However, as a book on B2B marketing, the book is way off the mark.It is very analytical and research oriented (on its one specific topic).It is very narrow and does not at all relate to the realities of B2B marketing in practice.

The title needs to be changed and clarified.

Worst textbook ever
This is the worst textbook that I have ever used. Incredibly boring- great if you have insomnia. The language, examples, and diagrams are all dry and uninteresting. Many of the key words are not defined well and there is no glossary for clarification. The summary at the end of each chapter is brief and does not contain any helpful tools, such as review questions or a list of keywords from the chapter. In short, this book needs to be completely overhauled- or thrown out the window. ... Read more

Product Description
Behind every great executive decision lies a smart question. Ask yourself this. Faced with a new budget or strategic choice, a potential employee or a client negotiation, a bright idea or an intractable problem, what questions do you need to ask? To test the projections, tackle the cause of problems, to make the right decision - the answer is simple. Ask the right question. Managers are all too often expected to lead with answers; to approach any situation armed with a company procedure or an off-the-shelf solution, but in an uncertain world, the right question is worth a world of standard answers. Asking the right question is the first step to understanding a business situation, and the first step to finding the right answer. Key Management Questions is your practical guide to intelligent management analysis and inquiry. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Key Management Questions: Smart Questions for Every Business Situation by
A must read of every middle level manager upwards to start honing your questioning skills.

Business questions that make you think and promote dialogue
"Any fool can offer you answers. It takes genius to ask the right questions." Albert Einstein.

I like this book a lot ... a book with questions that make you think and rethink.

I like playing the devil's advocate ... this book gives great inspiration for being it.

This book is an obvious choice for consultants. For it is just as obvious for many business people. Why ask the consultant, if you can get the questions for a book's price? But also remember how many times you participate in a decision-making process and/or meetings where you would like to make a great contribution ... read this book and you will get a lot of inspiration for contributing.

I have very many business books, but this paperback I often take with me for the travel before an important meeting. Either because I want to see if there are questions that I have forgotten to write down or - if I am the presenter - to understand what questions my audience or superiors could or should ask me!

Remember that you often may need fresh ideas and questions when you go to the fifth board meeting of a particular business or perhaps the fifth board meeting in the same week!
The problem may be that the participants all are somewhat into the same mindset. This book will always provide you with some very important business questions that should enable the meeting to take a new and interesting angle.

I never managed to read this book from cover to cover. To me, it is more a reference book with a lot of skilled questions that will make me think about a particular issue.

The author Tom Lambert covers most business areas: vision and mission, people, leadership, decisions, numbers, markets, change, etc.

I personally also like using the great strategic questions suggested in EXECUTION by Ram Charan & Larry Bossidy as well as in WINNING by Jack Welch. Both are great books by business people that I really recommend. Both are available in audio editions as well.

Peter Leerskov,
MSc in International Business (Marketing & Management) and Graduate Diploma in E-business

Great Business Handbook
Tom Lambert has been nicknamed "The Consultant's Consultant".However, with this book, I strongly feel that Tom has further established himself as "Every Business' Catalyst".He has come out with a very practical book that is memorable for its detail and accessibilty.The book's content has a refreshing Question format which makes it a suitable workbook.Tom also value-adds with his thought-provoking anecdotes and his considerable consulting experience.

My favourite Bits:

1) Life-plan - (pg 27-34)
2) Chap. 4 Questions of Biz leadership
3) Ebusiness Corporate Analysis pg 165
4) Chap. 13 Choosing and Using Consultants

This book is a must-read for anyone who is interested in business issues, especially those who are establishing themselves as independent consultants.It instructs about asking the right questions and also serves as a good guide for emerging start-ups.

Colin Ong TS ... Read more

Product Description
"The Glossary of Business and Management Terms is a well-researched and insightful book of business and management definitions. They are listed alphabetically and cross-referenced in a clear, concise and easy to understand format.

The book contains over 3,700 terms all taken from subjects which flow into the vast arena of business and management. It is informative and illuminating and provides the interconnectivity and substance which every resourceful and enterprising manager, business student or discerning member of the public will find indispensable.

In essence, the book will serve as a compass to help navigate and unfurl the sometimes unfamiliar and confusing terminology that has become all too pervasive in today’s dynamic business and management environment.
"
... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Glossary of Business and Management Terms
I like the way the author explains seemingly difficult terms in an easy to understand manner that even a layman like me can understand.He takes great care as well to cross reference terms so that there is great clarity in his work.In the current economic woes in which countries onboth sides of the Atlantic find themselves the book is for me a standard reference text and should be fore anyone who takes an interest in what is going around him regardless of his political affiliation.

Great reference book, it's a must have for everyone!
The Glossary of Business and Management terms is an excellent book which should be in the reference section of every library. I will go further and recommend that it be on the desk of every business student and manager. The book is replete with words which at first glance seem like part of everyday language but, in fact, have a meaning that can differ in the world of business and management. The book is indeed informative and illuminating. In addition, it is written in a language which is free from clutter an jargon and therefore has a wide appeal to me both in its presentation and content.

Clear, concise, and very informative book.
What I like most about this book is its appeal.It is written in a clear and consise manner and to the point without sacrificing the meaning of the word.The terms are wide-ranging and, I believe, of significance to managers and business students from varied backgrounds.In other words someone in Advertising can benefit equally from the book as well as someone from Accounting or General Management.I would like to see every business student with a copy of this publication.It is succinct, to the point and very informative to say the least. ... Read more

Product Description
The tools you need for successful project management

In today's time-crunched, cost-conscious global business environment, tight project deadlines and stringent expectations are the norm. Now with 25% new and updated content, Project Management For Dummies, 3rd Edition introduces you to the principles of successful project management and shows you how to motivate any team to gain maximum productivity.

You'll learn how to organize, estimate, and schedule projects efficiently and effectively. You'll also discover how to manage deliverables, issue changes, assess risks, maintain communications, and live up to expectations by making the most of the latest technology and software and by avoiding common problems that can trip up even the best project managers.

• The latest methods to manage resources and stay on track and within a budget
• New coverage of the pros and cons of virtual teams
• Fresh tactics for team motivation and the hottest risk management strategies
• Explanations of concepts tested in the PMP certification exam with study tips and practices to help you pass

Project Management For Dummies, 3rd Edition gives professionals like you everything you need to be successful project managers. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (31)

Another useful For Dummies book - useful project manager's resource
I liked the author's explanations of a number of the key concepts presented in the 4th version of the PMBOK: four stages of a project's life cycle; the initiating, planning, executing, monitoring and controlling, and closing processes of a project; the scope statement; work breakdown structure; and so on.

Each chapter is followed by a summary of which concepts in the preceding chapter are also addressed in PMBOK 4 and therefore most likely to appear on the PMP exam - these summaries are good cheat sheets to use when reviewing for the PMP exam.

I bought the book to brush up on concepts I'd learned on the job over the years, and I am pleased with my purchase.

Well-written useful tool for the novice PM and the expert PM alike
I have been a project and program manager for the past 7 years of my career and even with some years of experience I found the 3rd edition of Project Management for Dummies to be very enlightening.I was looking for a tool to help me prepare for the PMP certification exam.Admittedly, I had come across and used a majority of the topics in the book before but the book served as a really good refresher.I thought the topics I hadn't used before were presented in a clear and straightforward way.I had read portions of my colleagues' copies of the 1st and 2nd editions of this book in the past and all three editions of the book touch upon a wide range of PM best practices.The author consistently presents the material in a user friendly, easy to read style.The examples are very helpful.The 3rd edition seems to be tailored to be more of a preparation tool for the PMP certification exam - I thought the first two editions presented useful material for the exam but just not as strong a tool as the 3rd edition.The author got it right this time - study the 3rd edition before you take the exam!I think the main improvement in the 3rd edition was the author's use of the same terminology as the Project Management Body of Knowledge (version 4) - the first two editions seemed to conform with the versions of the PMBOK in effect when they were written, but Project Management for Dummies 3 is current and relevant.

Dummies - excellent as usual!
This is an excellent starting guide and great for mentoring new PMs - giving them an easier to read book than some of the Prince2 or PMBOK based material that is published.

Recommended as a starting guide.

does the trick
Refers to the PMBok in all major subjects which is commendable. Gives a simple and clear overview of the project management methodology and is helpful for those who whish to adopt some of the techniques available. However, those who intend to work as project managers, this book is not enough. Go to a qualified school and get the degree.

Kindle edition
The kindle edition of this book has poor layout for the Kindle. The book consist of numerous bulletpoints, all of which has been indented so that less then half the width of the screen is used for the text.

The content and the style of the book are ok. It gives you, as a starting pm, alot of things to think about. However, it does not dwell on any topic. Which makes it just a brief overview of the topic. ... Read more

Product Description
The Harvard Business Review Paperback Series is designed to bring today's managers and professionals the fundamental information they need to stay competitive in a fast-moving world. From the preeminent thinkers whose work has defined an entire field to the rising stars who will redefine the way we think about business, here are the leading minds and landmark ideas that have established the Harvard Business Review as required reading for ambitious businesspeople in organizations around the globe.

Managers often find it difficult to keep up with the multitude of factors that impact learning and knowledge management in business. This helpful volume analyzes these factors, details better practices for organizational learning and offers strategies on how to control and manage a company's knowledge to its fullest potential. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

HBR on Organizational Learning is good but dated
While the articles in the review contain some gems that certainly stand the test of time, most of the articles are about to reach their 10th birthday - and with changing times comes new challenges.
"Communities of Practice: The Organizational Frontier" aptly demonstrates this by describing how groups of people informally bound by shared expertise and passion for a joint enterprise can connect a learn from each other.All good stuff but in this day and age breakfast and lunch meetings are now being superceded by new technology platforms that connect people globally online.
My favorite article was "The Smart Talk Trap".For those working in big companies the issues outlined are probably familiar.However help is at hand because this article not only outlines the issues but it also provides some concrete and actionable remedies.
For those with interest in this subject it is well worth reading - but more recent reviews will hold more relevance for todays business environment.

Great Practitioner Guide!
This is another great book in the extraordinary Harvard Business Review (HBR) paperback series. It is one of the books I highly recommend.

This book begins with an outstanding article on communities of practice by Wenger & Snyder. If you can't read Wenger & Snyder's entire book, be sure to read this article/chapter.

There is a chapter by Pfeffer & Sutton on the knowing-doing gap that's very helpful. John Seely Brown and Paul Duguid offer a fascinating chapter on knowledge transfer through casual discussion.

Perhaps the most useful chapter in the book is Hansen, Nohria, & Tierney's article on managing knowledge. In this chapter, they discuss the critical distinction between codification and personalization knowledge management systems. This chapter alone is worth the cost of the book.

Add to these chapters the work of Argyris, Mintzberg, and others, and you have a resource every practitioner should own.

Michael Beitler
Author of "Strategic Organizational Learning"

"If you think education is expensive, try ignorance."
The title of this review is borrowed from Derek Bok who, when president of Harvard, responded to parents who crticized a recent tuition increase. Now the review.

This is one in a series of several dozen volumes which comprise the "Harvard Business Review Paperback Series." Each offers direct, convenient, and inexpensive access to the best thinking on the given subject in articles originally published by the Harvard Business School Review. I strongly recommend all of the volumes in the series. The individual titles are listed at this Web site: www.hbsp.harvard.edu. The authors of various articles are among the world's most highly regarding experts on the given subject. Each volume has been carefully edited. Supplementary commentaries are also provided in most of the volumes, as is an "About the Contributors" section which usually includes suggestions of other sources which some readers may wish to explore.

In this volume, we are provided with eight separate but related articles in which their authors examine these subjects: "The Organizational Frontier" (Wenger and Snyder), "The Smart-Talk Trap" (Pfeffer and Sutton), "Balancing Act: How to Capture Information Without Killing It" (Brown and Duguid), "What Your Strategy for Managing Knowledge?" (Hansen, Nohria, and Tierney), "Good Communicating That Blocks Learning" (Argyris), "Coevolving: At Last a Way to Make Synergies Work" (Eisenhardt and Galunic). "Organigraphs: Drawing How Companies Really Work" (Mintzberg and Van der Heyden), and "Stop Fighting Fires" (Bohn). Here are a few brief excerpts:

"As communities of practice generate knowledge, they renew themselves. They give both the golden eggs and the goose that lays them." (Wenger and Snyder)

"People will try to sound smart not only by being critical but also by using trendy, pretentious language." (Pfeffer and Sutton)

"[Organizational defensive routines] consist of all the policies, practices, and actions that prevent human beings from having to experience embarrassment or threat and, at the same time, prevent them from examining the nature and causes of that embarrassment or threat." (Argyris)

"The most effective decision makers are those at the business-unit level, where strategic perspective meets operating savvy." (Eisenhardt and Galunic)

No brief commentary such as this can do full justice to the rigor and substance of the articles provided. It remains for each reader to examine the list to identify those subjects which are of greatest interest to her or him. My own opinion is that all of the articles are first-rate. For me, one of this volume's greatest benefits is derived from various charts and diagrams included such as "How Consulting Firms Manage Their Knowledge" (on page 68). Here Hansen, Nohria, and Tierney juxtapose Codification with Personalization in areas such as competitive strategy, economic model, knowledge management strategy, information technology, and human resources. Another valuable chart is found on page 168. Bohn lists a series of "Rules of Thumb" (rational rules which create irrational results) and suggests why each such "Rule" should be carefully re-considered. Great stuff.

Even those who already subscribe to the Harvard Business Review will greatly appreciate this series because each volume gathers together separate but related articles (previously published in the HBR) on the same general subject. The cost of each volume in the series is relatively modest; the value provided is substantial. Those who share my high regard for this one are urged to read various books written by Peter Senge as well as Working Knowledge (Thomas H. Davenport and Laurence Prusak), Dialogue and the Art of Thinking Together: A Pioneering Approach to Communicating in Business and in Life (William Isaacs), If Only We Knew What We Know: The Transfer of Internal Knowledge and Best Practice (Carla S. O'Dell et al), and finally, The Magic of Dialogue: Transforming Conflict into Cooperation (Daniel Yankelovich). ... Read more

Product Description
Business rules management system (BRMS) is a software tools that work alongside enterprise IT applications. It enables enterprises to automate decision-making processes typically consisting of separate business rules authoring and rules execution applications.

This proposed title brings together the following key ideas in modern enterprise system development best practice.

• The need for service-oriented architecture (SOA).
• How the former depends on component-based development (CBD).
• Database-centred approaches to business rules (inc. GUIDES).
• Knowledge-based approaches to business rules.
• Using patterns to design and develop business rules management systems

Ian Graham is an industry consultant with over 20 years. He is recognized internationally as an authority on business modelling, object-oriented software development methods and expert systems. He has a significant public presence, being associated with both UK and international professional organizations, and is frequently quoted in the IT and financial press. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Great source for IT professionals
I bought this book after careful consedering all Business Rules books, offered by Amazon. A good choice indeed.
As an enterprise architect I came across themes like architecture principles, SOA and business requirements. Business rules in relation to architecture is a much debated issue. So when I came to be involved in a Business Rules project for a customer, I decided to arm myself. What did the book deliver? Well:
- clear and pleasant writing style.
- answers to FAQ right from the preface.
- relate BR to SOA.
- functional and management perspective. Technology and concepts. Not too deep, not to hi-over.
- insight in leading products (be it anno 2007, but good enough for a benchmark).
- 42 (:-) solution patterns.
- a checklist for evaluating BRMS's.

Excellent!

Nice technical overview of business rules management and SOA
Ian Graeme's new book "Business Rules Management and Service-Oriented Architecture" is a fairly technical look at business rules, the technology of a business rules management system and patterns of using them. The book gives a fairly quick overview of SOA and then introduces business rules, both as an approach and as a class of technology. He covers different execution styles, the features of a Business Rules Management System and compares three products (Blaze Advisor, JRules and Haley). For JRules and Blaze Advisor at least he is already out of date in the details but you still get a feel for the products and his method for evaluating tools is a useful read for anyone who likes to compare rules products with the traditional list of features.

Ian builds on many of the basic methodology steps outlined in previous rules books (like Barbara von Halle's) and then adds a really interesting section (about a third of the book) or patterns for requirements, elicitation, development, writing and organizing business rules. While some are fairly straightforward it is still a nice set and an interesting approach very suited to a more flexible methodology (like agileor similar).

I enjoyed the book and if you are looking for an up to date book on rules and SOA this should be on your list. ... Read more

Product Description
Just some of the books featured:

Charles Babbage, On the Economy of Machinery and Manufactures (1832)- Meredith Belbin, Management Teams: Why They Succeed or Fail (1984) - Warren Bennis & Burt Nanus, Leaders (1985) - Jan Carlzon, Moments of Truth (1987) - James Champy & Michael Hammer, Reengineering the Corporation (1993) - Alfred Chandler, Strategy and Structure (1962) - Stan Davis & Christopher Meyer, Blur (1997) - Henry Ford, My Life and Work (1923) - Harold Geneen, Managing (1984) - Frank Gilbreth, Motion Study (1911) - Gary Hamel & C K Prahalad, Competing for the Future (1994) - Charles Handy, The Age of Unreason (1989) - Philip Kotler, Marketing Management (1967) - Nicoló Machiavelli, The Prince (1513) - Henry Mintzberg, The Nature of Managerial Work (1973) - John Naisbitt, Megatrends (1982) - Taiichi Ohno, Toyota Production System (1978) - David Packard, The HP Way (1995) - Michael Porter, The Competitive Advantage of Nations (1990) - Frederick Reichheld, The Loyalty Effect (1996) - Peter Senge, The Fifth Discipline (1990) - Fons Trompenaars, Riding the Waves of Culture (1993) - Sun Tzu, The Art of War (500 BC) - Max Weber, The Theory of Social and Economic Organization (1924) ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Excellentshort summary of management history
I recently sat for (and passed) my doctoral comprehensive exams in Management, and used this book to help me develop context, so that I didn't lose my way in the forest. So many thinkers, so many papers, and such grim prose. This book, along with Crainer's "Key Management Ideas" were indispensible in helping to form a review outline. They could also be useful for an MBA student trying to understand the epistemological history behind some of the concepts spouted by practitioners, such as "tipping-point" and "network-effect." He or she will learn, as I have, that the progenitors often didn't receive the credit he or she deserved.

Some of my fellow students preferred Shafritz, Ott & Jang's "Classics of Organization Theory," to which I also referred, but as the previous reviewer pointed out, Crainer's laudible biographical sketches and context-setting side-bars (many provided by Gary Hamel, who understands the value of a clever phrase) within each section aid the reader in understanding the place each theorist occupies in the literature.

This book first appeared in 1997. That was recently enough that I believe that it should have included the work of Karl Weick, whose concept of sense-making has gained in stature and will likely have long-term importance. A minor quibble though about an excellent synopsis.

80 essential sources for any business library

This is the third edition of one of the volumes in the "The Ultimate Series" published by Capstone Publishing Limited. I have also reviewed Des Dearlove's The Ultimate Book of Business Thinking and John Middleton's The Ultimate Strategy Library. The three volumes comprise an especially informative and valuable resource for busy executives as well as those now preparing for a business career.The brevity of coverage of individuals and individual books is inevitable, given the scope of each volume. For example, during the course of a 301-page narrative, Stuart Crainer provides a briefing on a total of 85 of "the greatest books that made management." They are arranged by author in alphabetical order but Crainer also offers a series of time-specific clusters that range from "Management prehistory" (e.g. Sun Tzu's The Art of War and Adam Smith's The Wealth of Nations) to "The nineties" (e.g. James Collins and Jerry Porras' Built to Last and Thomas Stewart's Intellectual Capital). The last works Crainer discusses were first published in 1998: Don Tapscott's Growing Up Digital and Patricia Seybold's Customers.com.

I like the format Crainer chose for each of the 80 commentaries.First, he provides a mini-bio of the given author, then a brief discussion of her or his "classic" book, followed by a few notes. In the Bibliography that follows the last commentary (devoted to William H. Whyte and Organization Man), Crainer lists all of each author's major works.Many readers will appreciate being introduced to certain works with which they may not have previously been familiar. For example, Frank Gilbreth's Motion Study (1911), Chester Barnard's The Functions of the Executive (1938), Frederick Herzberg's The Motivation at Work (1959), MarvinBower's The Will to Manage (1966), Taiicho Ohno's Toyota's Production System (1978), and Joseph M. Juran's Planning for Quality (1988). To paraphrase Isaac Newton, they are among the "giants" upon whose shoulders so many more renowned business thinkers have since stood.

Of course, no such list is complete nor does Crainer claim that his is. My own opinion is that there are some notable pre-1998 omissions (e.g. Eric Drexler, Thomas Kuhn, Michael Hammer, and James Womack) but, to repeat, no such list is complete.

Crainer makes especially effective use of brief observations by Gary Hamel, each relevant to the given context, that are inserted throughout the narrative. Here are three representative examples:

On organizational learning: "If your organization has not yet mastered double-loop learning it is already a dinosaur. No one can doubt that organizational learning is the ultimate competitive advantage. We owe much to [Chris] Argyris and [Donald] Schon for helping us to learn about learning." (Page 8)

On the rise and fall of strategic planning: "Henry [Mintzberg] views strategic planning as a ritual, devoid of creativity and meaning. He is undoubtedly right when he argues that planning doesn't produce strategy. But rather than use the last chapter of [The Rise and Fall of Strategic Planning] to create a new charter for planners, Henry might have put his mind to the question of where strategies actually do come from!" (Page 177)

On organizational culture and leadership: "It is impossible to change a large organization without first understanding that organization's culture. Ed [i.e. Edgar H.] Schein gave us an ability to look deeply into what makes an organization what it is, thus providing the foundation of any successful effort at `transformation' or `change.' [Schein's book] Organizational Culture and Leadership remains essential reading for all aspiring `change agents.'" (Page 243)

Those who share my regard for this book are urged to check the other two volumes in the "The Ultimate Series" as well as Crainer's The Management Century, another brilliant achievement. ... Read more

Product Description
This text covers the technical aspects of capital investment decision-making, including the selection of an appropriate discount rate, and also its human and behavioural characteristics. It is a book that will be of value to accounting and finance students, general business students, and also to those actively involved in the capital decision-making process at all levels. ... Read more

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The impact of Chinese culture can be felt in all areas of business and management in China, from Chinese firms to Western companies. This edited volume integrates contributions from multiple disciplines and countries, including China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, France, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States. More than merely a compendium of how-to-do-business-in-China tips, this book examines the influence of culture--specifically, Confucian values and Chinese traditions--on foreign direct investment, joint ventures, management styles and theories, and organizational behavior. ... Read more

Product Description
Business Process Management and the Balanced Scorecard shows managers how to optimally use the balanced scorecard to achieve and sustain strategic success even as the business environment changes. It exceptionally fills the gap between theory and application to facilitate the use of processes as a strategic weapon to deliver world-class performance. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

How to use your processes as strategic weapons
The emphasis on process performance as an element of organizational success is growing. Strategy consultant Ralph Smith explains the evolution of strategic processes as tactical weapons in business leaders' competitive arsenals. He provides a brief analysis of the current state of global competition and demonstrates how what he calls "process-based competition" evolved from Total Quality Management. However, his book is not just historical; it is practical. Smith explains how to create a "strategy map" and how to use it as a foundation for your balanced scorecard. He organizes the final chapters of his book around a six-step flowchart that will help you become an effective strategic-process competitor. The book is concise but dry. Like many authors with systems of their own, Smith advocates using facilitators and consultants - especially himself - to guide you through your strategic process. However, underneath his sales pitch lies a good deal of substance. getAbstract recommends this book to executives who are looking for practical implementation strategies.

Follow the steps and creating your balanced scorecard will be easier and more effective
What I appreciated most about this book is its emphasis on the business aspects creating a business scorecard.The author knows it is a means and not and end.He is also wise enough to know the importance of strategy, of identifying the strategic processes that drive your success, and the importance of creating strategic maps before you being to create a balanced scorecard.If you do the preparatory work well, creating the balanced scorecard is much simpler.

I also admire the author for disabusing the reader of the sanctity of a balanced scorecard once you have it in place.You need to watch its performance and see if it drives the kind of results you need.If not, you must change it.

A good, practical, concise, and clearly written book and I hope you get a great deal from it.

Reviewed by Craig Matteson, Ann Arbor, MI

If you want to be a Lean Six Sigma Rock Star like me you need this book
I loved this book.
It pragmatically makes the linkages between processes and strategy.All too frequently, strategies are created and so called "deployed" with little in depth of the organizations "real" processes and their performance.
On the hand, all too frequently, I have seen Six Sigma types banging their heads against the wall trying to get projects initiated or completed.Their training and mentors tell them they need more cap tools, better influencing skills, and other BS.What they need to know is how to tie their projects and their processes to the organizations key strategic imperatives and measures.
Yes, I know vast majority of organizations including those implementing Six Sigma have poorly defined strategies, goals, objectives, and god forbid measures, if they have one at all.
However, using this book Master Lean Six Sigma Black Belts and Black Belts can connect their projects to the business' strategy.
I can't wait to get this book into my GE Lean Six Sigma Black Belts hands.

Process Improvement for the Process Manager
As a Process Manager, you sometimes get locked in to one approach to process improvement.Ralph Smith gives practical strategies with actual case study results that can be applied in virtually any organization.The concept of improving a business function without considering the constrictions in the total system will make every organization think more systemically for their process improvement effort.Excellent job!!

No so much about processes
This book is ok if you intend to understand how to set up an strategy, but it does not talk very much about how to manage processes and how to design them. Although the book is ok, it mainly talks about strategy.

In my opinion the title is a bit tricky. ... Read more

Product Description
The enjoyable nectar of grapes and the business of bringing it to consumers have already had a long history, but never before has the wine industry seen so much change. "The Business of Wine" is aimed at anyone with an interest in broadening his or her view of wine to encompass some of the fascinating complexities of the business side of this international industry. It is also the intention that it provides substantive reading for the professional, the academic, or the student seeking to gain deeper insight into the structure and economics of the industry as well as into the various trends and pressures which are currently affecting it.Go to any bookstore, and you will find a myriad of guides to the wines of the world. Interesting as such books are to wine lovers, these volumes leave many gaps. The aim of this book is to fill those gaps and to provide a global overview of wine as a business. While it is still possible to drive through Provence, Napa Valley or Mendoza unearthing the odd case of undiscovered nectar, the real backbone of today's wine industry lies elsewhere.It is that backbone - its structure and complex functions - that is examined in detail in "The Business of Wine." ... Read more

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Count on the renowned author team that's First in Finance to deliver a unique balance of clear concepts, contemporary theory, and practical applications that ensures a thorough understanding of today's corporate finance and financial management. Brigham/Houston's FUNDAMENTALS OF FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT, 12E presents a solid, focused foundation in financial basics punctuated with timely actual examples, end-of-chapter applications, and Integrated Cases that make it easier to understand the how and why of corporate budgeting, financing, and working capital decision making. The book's presentation of Time Value of Money (TVM) is repositioned so readers can immediately begin using the concepts after learning them. THOMSON ONE-BUSINESS SCHOOL EDITION accompanies this edition, offering the same financial online database used by professionals on Wall Street every day. FUNDAMENTALS OF FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT, 12E also offers APLIA FOR FINANCE, the leading homework solution tool in educational publishing today. Trust the strengths in Brigham/Houston's market-leading FUNDAMENTALS OF FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT, 12E for the First in Finance time and time again. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (12)

Timely shipping
The book was shipped in a timely manner.I received it before the expected delivery date.

fast delivery
I needed this book for a class right away and so I payed the extra for faster shipping considering how much I was saving it was worth it. It got here 2 days after I ordered it and came brand new in the wrapping. I am so happy with this seller and this order. It saved me so much money from the book store on campus. I would definitely recommend this seller to anyone.

Straight-out good service
Book arrived quickly.It was in very good condition, as was advertised.Price was good -- no hidden strings attached.

thanks, HAPPYREADERs!
I placed my order on April 28, which was two-day shipping. I received the book on 29th and the book is really in an excellent condition.thanks, HAPPYREADERs!

The book.
The book was in good shape, since I got it used. It has nothing wrong or showing that it is used. A great deal! ... Read more

Product Description
Thanks to accelerating change and intensifying competition, more and more organizational work takes the form of projects—large and small, complex and straightforward. This hands-on book provides the guidelines and tools you need to enhance this core competency—including assembling a project team, keeping projects on schedule and within budget, and mitigating project risk. ... Read more

Product Description
"To navigate the treacherous waters of today's business world, companies must be agile and dynamic. To survive the ravages of a plundering competition, they must find a better way to do business. More and more companies are discovering that the focused, results-oriented tenets of project management -- a discipline made to meet the challenges they face -- is the better way they're seeking. Winning in Business With Enterprise Project Management shows readers how to use the powerful tools of project management on a whole new, enterprise-wide level and make project management an organizational creed, using it to plan and take care of daily business, not simply accomplish one project. Companies that do so will generate more organizational synergy...add speed to on-going processes...increase productivity...ensure their own survival and prosperity, and more." ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

Project management from a strategic point of view
Dinsmore is a good story-teller. He focuses mainly on the why an organization might need enterprise project management so it is a good book to find ideas on how to sell the concept. Few details on actual implementation though. Offer this book to your executives !

A Must Read for Business Students.
1. Paul Dinsmore has succeeded where other authors have failed. He has managed to present to his readers the finer points of integrating the skills of project management techniques into the total business enterprise. His writing style appeals to all project managers from the neophyte to the seasoned veteran. To succeed in the fast paced globalize economy; the complete enterprise business concept must be fully understood. Businesses of today must do more with quality and quantity while using fewer resources. Mr. Dinsmore details the phases that any organization can take to implement a Project Management Office (PMO) or the managing organizations by projects (MOBP). The information from this book could be extremely valuable to the organization that is considering either option for their organization. This book is a necessary read for all levels of employees and managers for the business looking for that competitive advantage. The most important use for this book is for the Business Student. They (the student) will gain an excellant overview of Enterprise Project Management tools and techniques.

A must read for organization implementing project offices.
Paul Dinsmore has captured the essance of all the major issues facing organizations who are attempting to implement an enterprise-wide project management solution.The book is easy to read and understand and includesexcellent tips and checklists.It is directed at individuals at all levelsof the organization from executive managers down to the staff level, thosewho actually do project activities.The writing style is such that itspeaks to the project managment novice as well as the seasoned projectmanagement consultant, everyone will obtain something of value.

This isclearly one of the best books I have read in a long time that does anexceptional job of covering a topic that has generated a great deal ofinterest in the marketplace today.It is an absolute "Must Read"for those organizations who are considering the implementation of a ProjectOffice or an MOBP (Managing Organizations By Project)strategy.

Reviewedby: Dennis Bolles, PMP Manager - Project Management Center Of Excellence Donnelly Corporation 616-786-6310

Follow-up calls are welcome

Projects can ensure business strategy implementation.
As the new millennium approaches, "Winning in Business With Enterprise Project Management" by Paul Dinsmore could not have come at a better time for those interested in project management.Dinsmore's ideathat companies should manage their businesses as an aggregate of projectstakes project management to the next level.What is so great about thisbook are the benefits from Dinsmore's 25 years of project managementexperience.Through his experience, Dinsmore has identified fivefundamental criteria for transferring strategic goals into action on thefront line of projects.Do you have 25 years to come to the sameconclusion?Dinsmore's book is worth a detailed reading at a minimum.Inaddition to the value of his experience and findings, the book provides asuperbly organized presentation of the fundamental concepts of projectmanagement for project beginners.In essence, this book is the alpha andomega of project management.

A solid, in-depth intro to a crucial subject�a WINNING book.
Examines an organization-wide approach to managing, founded on the concept that business goals can be realized through a matrix of projects running concurrently and phased in stages. The approach encompasses corporatestrategic, operational improvement, organizational transformation, andtraditional development projects. The book is organized around fourteenprinciples of Enterprise Project Management beginning with "everythingis a project." The author includes a useful and long list ofprofessional organizations that support project management, consistingprimarily of consulting firms. This is a solid, in-depth introduction to acrucial subject for both organization planning and management. It iscontent-rich -we commend it to you. Reviewed by Gerry Stern, author of Stern's SourceFinder The Master HR & Management Information Directory,CyberSpace SourceFinder, and Compensation and Benefits SourceFinder. ... Read more