A BUSINESS AND ITS BELIEFS THE IDEAS THAT HELPED BUILD IBM

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A BUSINESS AND ITS BELIEFS THE IDEAS THAT HELPED BUILD IBM
Thomas J. Watson
Manufacturer: McGraw-Hill
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000ERB3MS

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Unlike individuals who are sometimes born to greatness, corporations always have to achieve greatness. Few have achieved the success of IBM. Its combination of zeal and professionalism, tempered with compassion and good common sense have made IBM what it is today. Thomas J. Watson, Jr., Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of IBM, probes the origins of his company and attributes its growth to its firm set of beliefs.

A Business and Its Beliefs: The Ideas That Helped Build IBM

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A Business and Its Beliefs: The Ideas That Helped Build IBM
Thomas J. Watson Jr.
Manufacturer: McGraw Hill Book Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000GP4PYG

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A Revisit to fundamental principles that makes a corp great

A Business and Its Beliefs : The Ideas That Helped Build IBM
Thomas J. Watson
Manufacturer: McGraw-Hill
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0071418598

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The timeless business book that still brings perspective and guidance to today's bottom-line executives

When first published in 1963, IBM CEO Thomas Watson Jr.'s A Business and Its Beliefs gave readers an unprecedented look inside IBM's executive offices. Watson--son of IBM's founder-- candidly discussed how the company clung to its values during the first great technological shift, and how this refusal to compromise became IBM's strength. He also became one of the first CEOs to question business's place and responsibility in society, and openly discuss how firms could meet expanding social expectations while still turning a profit.

The groundbreaking ideas in this book still resonate with today's managers. This newly published edition reintroduces Watson's ideas to a new generation of decision-makers in search of IBM-style standards for their own organizations. A to-the-point examination of the values and beliefs that built and sustained IBM, its message is as valuable today as it was four decades back--and will once again strike a resounding chord with executives everywhere.

Customer Reviews:

A Revisit to fundamental principles that makes a corp great.......2005-01-18

The IBM official biography have this to say about Thomas Watson Jr.

" During his leadership, IBM grew from a medium-sized business to one of the dozen largest industrial corporations in the world. When Mr. Watson became CEO in 1956, IBM employed 72,500 people and had a gross income of $892 million. When he stepped down in 1971, employees numbered more than 270,000 and gross revenue was $8.3 billion. Fortune magazine once called him "the greatest capitalist who ever lived."

It is a great book, though I initially had misgivings getting the book. Are the principles of 1963 applicable today? When I looked at the Amazon site, it was ranked 433,861 in sales, and I would be the first to review it. Uhmmmm... If I had not been so enamored by his story by another book, "Father , Son & Company" which he co-authored with Peter Petre, I would not have bought this one.

Notwithstanding, I will not hesitate to say it is still one of the most important book in building the foundation of a great corporation, much akin to the principles in the bestseller book "Built to Last" by Jim Collins (#31 in Amazon list) . Only it is less sensational, but written by a True Blue practitioner who can really claim to the saying, been there, done that. With plethoras of business books proliferating, it is important to see, before believing, that the authors recommendations match his accomplishments. Or else, there will always be the question -- if he knows the stock market so well, why is he writing the book instead of investing in Wall Street?

It is one of those rare books, that is as relevant today as it was published over 40 years ago. According to Watson in laying the foundation on the importance of beliefs ( we call it now VISION) , "

"the basic philosphy, spirit and drive of an organization have far more to do with its relative achievements than do technological or economic resources, organization structure, innovation or timing. All these things weigh heavily in success. Buthey are, I think, transcended byhow strongly the people believe in its basic precepts and how faitfully they carry them out."

What are these basic precepts? He outlined three:

- have respect for the individual

- give the best company service of any company in the world.

- pursue all tasks with the idea that they can be accomplished in a superior fashion

He says, " The relationship between man and the customer, their mutual trust, the importance of reputation, the idea of putting the customer first -- all these things, if carried out wth real conviction by a company can make a great deal of difference in its destiny."

He is a great man, and it is a great book, if only to review what we may have forgotten in our haste to accomplish our everyday tasks. He is a great manager, but the one thing that will always put him in my all time list of great people will be an incident when he refused a higher salary and bonuses from a grateful board saying his pay was already enough, and he said something that I hope I will always remember in my own quest for fulfillment and happiness --- " I do not want to be a pig. "

by wilson ng
www.bizdrivenlife.net

Business and Its Beliefs: The Ideas that Helped Build IBM

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Business and Its Beliefs: The Ideas that Helped Build IBM
Thomas J. Watson Jr.
Manufacturer: Mcgraw-hill Inc
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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Father, Son & Co.: My Life at IBM and Beyond

ASIN: 0070684863

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A Business and Its Beliefs : The Ideas That Helped Build IBM

Manufacturer: McGraw-Hill
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000CFEGIA

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A Business and Its Beliefs; the Ideas That Helped Build Ibm
thomas watson
Manufacturer: McGraw-Hill
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000O9TDP0

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Explains how credit works, how to screen out high-risk accounts, and how to control an accounts receivable program.

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What's going on in America? Caught in the Crossfire offers an original and compelling vision of the forces changing the ways people live their lives, through the unique lens of America's children. Grossberg reveals how the United States has been gradually shifting from a society that celebrates childhood into one that is hostile to and afraid of its own children. Today kids are often seen as a threat to our social and moral values. Grossberg gathers evidence from the media, schools, courts, medicine, economics, and family life.

Caught in the Crossfire locates this alteration in an original understanding of the struggles transforming contemporary America and of the choices Americans face about their future. He documents the relations between economic ideologies and economic realities and explores both the 'culture wars' and the political culture of the nation. Grossberg argues that all of these developments, including those involving the state of kids, only make sense as integral parts of a larger struggle to redefine America's uniqueness and to develop a new sense of itself as a modern society.

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An Extraordinary Critique of Politics, Economics, and Culture.......2006-08-25

"Caught in the Crossfire" is a contemporary critique of the current political climate of the United States. Grossberg situates his argument in what seems to be the collective and growing dissatisfaction with our children, e.g. the "war" against kids. The first third of the text addresses how kids have been treated in the past three decades both literally and figuratively, with emphasis upon the latter. It is certainly no secret that children (especially teenagers) are misrepresented often in the media, leading to the demonization and criminalization of our youth. One need not search very far to find glorifying examples of this, take for instance the current status quo on rap music.

Nevertheless, Grossberg provides a compelling argument to the contrary, arguing that the current claims about the behavior of our kids are not only misleading, but also blatantly false. His claims are supported with rich data, including but not limited to media documents, government surveys and criminal data. Grossberg even goes so far as to purport that kids rather are very much like the generations that preceded them. Before reading this text one might be at odds with such a statement, as it seems to fly in the face of conventional wisdom, but wading through his presentation of the data one would be hard pressed to not only consider the statement very compelling, if not downright correct.

Much of the blame concerning the deterioration of kids is placed upon faltering parents, racism, capitalism, the current "family crisis", and of course the media. Grossberg addresses all of the aforementioned. Although the brunt of the blame does not rest squarely upon one or the other, the current rhetoric espoused by political factions on both the right and the left can be largely attributed to a compliant and complacent news media. Grossberg provides us with a plethora of factoids that refute current and widely held assumptions, beliefs, and myths about kids. For instance, a child is three to four times more likely to be struck by lightning than to be a victim of violence in school (p. 41). Nevertheless, he is quick to note that we cannot merely blame the media (as many do) but opt for a more sensible approach, one that would factor the media into the general equation concerning our understanding of kids.

Grossberg proceeds to connect the misrepresentation of the youth crisis to broader struggles and changes that have defined America (and modernity) for at least the past quarter century. The dialogue that follows contributes to a social commentary concerning politics in an entirely new and unique perspective. In the second third of the text Grossberg presents a stifling critique of politics, castigating both the right and the left (few scholars are capable of doing this well and with rigor). Perhaps some might criticize Grossberg for being too "in the middle" but this would simply be missing the point. Besides, he openly admits his preference for left politics (which makes his critique all the more damning), as he remarks that "[c]ritisim can be offered in a spirit of solidarity [and] I write from a desire to forge a more effective left politics" (page 160).

The final third of the book addresses what Grossberg calls the coming American modernity. Modernity is typically understood as a historical period characterized by 19th and 20th century world of science, nation-states, political democracy, capitalism, urbanization, mass literacy, mass media, mass culture, rationality and individualism. Grossberg divides American history into three centuries, each he argues characterized by their different realizations of modernity to discuss the creation and development of American democracy, capitalism, and politics. He argues, among other things, that we are in "the midst of the unsettling of one modernity and the emergence of another" (page 217). It is here Grossberg argues that a space is provided for a restructuring of politics, economics, and culture, whereby we can forge a move toward a more compromising political discourse; as the political climate has quickly deteriorated into an all out war between the right and left, characterized by the absence of rationality (a tenet of modernity) in contemporary political debates and commentary. This perspective is exemplified in the idea that campaigning is constant and ubiquitous, as the goal of politicians it seems is merely to stay in office.

So what do you ask does this have to do with our kids? "Kids' unique relation to time and history in the second modernity made them the most potent symbol of possibility and hope. Childhood and youth became the essence of imagination, the affirmation that there are always alternatives and that resistance to any one future is always possible. Kids remind us that we can always change directions" (page 308). The war against our kids then destroys the possibility of imagining change for the future and even perhaps destroys the possibility of a future. This text is a call for communication, an open dialogue, as "communication is the opening of possibility" (page 317). Communication then fosters the ability to transform our society to a more egalitarian and livable environment, one that would be suitable and enjoyable for the majority of people.

This book was extraordinary and is highly recommended. It was very thought provoking, stimulating, and very intellectually rewarding and will no doubt change the ways in which you approach politics and the social world.

In The Crossfire Of Democracy (Thela Latin America Series)

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In The Crossfire Of Democracy (Thela Latin America Series)
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Dam builders are sometimes reluctant to seek expert advice, because they fear that higher costs will be involved. But investigation and design usually represent only 5 to 10 percent of the total cost. A small additional outlay at design stage is a form of insurance against failure. Furthermore, a well-designed plan sometimes introduces cost-saving features.

The guidance given in Small Earth Dams will result in improved standards of small dam construction and fewer costly failures.

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Handbook on Small Earth Dams and Weirs: A Guide to Siting, Design and Construction
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This book describes the key procedures for obtaining and staining chromosomes from a variety of human tissues. Techniques for the culture of amniotic fluid, chorionic villi, blood lymphocytes, bone marrow and lymph node cells are all described in detail. Reliable methods used for staining and banding are provided together with an overview of the modern fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) technology which complements the traditional approaches. This is an essential practical guide for all workers in cytogenetics. Its authoritative coverage is invaluable both for newcomers and more experienced colleagues in the field. The Essential Techniques Series books are designed to provide you with immediate access to the protocols you require every day. These handy pocket-sized manuals are easy to carry around, and conveniently spiral bound making them ideal for lab bench work. Written by experienced laboratory researchers, each book in the Essential Techniques Series gives up-to-date, tried and tested practical information for the life scientist. For each key technique these books:

introduce the most commonly used methods,
explain the advantages and disadvantages of the methods, and give advice on which procedure to use,
provide easy to follow step-by-step protocols, with experimental notes and tips on where to pause, plus information on safety and suppliers.

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Excellent resource for students or as a refresher.......2007-07-28

It is very helpful to have a book geared toward one's first introduction to GFD concepts, since there are several offerings at more advanced levels.

A very good introduction.......2005-02-02

It is an introductory text, yet still calls to draw upon a lot of mathematical skills. Much easier to go through than Pedlosky, and has many exercises at the end of each chapter. It is esentially a book for the reader more interested in the dynamics and applications like myself than on a rigorous theoretical treatment of GFD.

A perfect resource for GFD.......2001-06-09

As someone who just spent a year preparing for my graduate qualifying exams in atmospheric science, this book quickly became my favorite. It is a short book, but is packed with a lot of the fundamentals of GFD. The derivations are not too complicated, and the explanations do a very good job making sense of it all. I did notice, however, that there were several typos throughout the book, an incorrect equation and paths to the wrong figures, but they weren't big enough to distract me.

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Introduction to the Mathematical Theory of Geophysical Fluid Dynamics (North-Holland mathematics studies)
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In 1905, Einstein's Annus Mirabilis, Albert Einstein made three discoveries concerning the foundations of nature which form the basis of his fame as a physicist. These revolutionary papers on the light-quantum hypothesis, Brownian motion, and special relativity, were published in the journal "Annalen der Physik". All three are now established as pillars of modern science and its applications in technology and are an indispensable part of the modern world.
This volume presents some of the most significant original papers which Albert Einstein ever wrote. It includes the facsimiles of the three revolutionary papers of 1905. In addition it contains papers which show the consequences of the ground-breaking ideas of these seminal papers from E=mc² to the quantum theory of specific heats. It also features Einstein's first exposition of his new general theory of relativity.
Introducing the original German papers the science historians Jürgen Renn (MPI for the History of Science, Berlin), David C. Cassidy (Hofstra University, Hempstead), Michel Janssen (University of Minnesota), and Robert Rynasiewicz (John Hopkins University) complement and comment the collection with topical articles.

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With his 500-year lifetime so far, and centuries yet ahead, the character of Dracula has an ever-unfolding biography, to which this 100th-anniversary tribute contributes 33 stories (only 6 of which have been previously published). Dracula visits, in these pages, such locales as the Côte d'Azur, the wilds of Oregon, the Los Angeles of Raymond Chandler, communist Eastern Europe, Rome at the dawn of the 21st century (a chilling tale in which he is forced to imitate the Messiah), and the ruins of post-apocalyptic New Jersey. He encounters Bettie Page, Aleister Crowley, Timothy Leary, Lou Reed, and Francis Ford Coppola (with the entire cast and crew of Apocalypse Now, in a hilarious spoof). The authors include such contemporary masters as Kim Newman, Nicholas Royle, Terry Lamsley, Joel Lane, Brian Stableford, and Ramsey Campbell. The book also has a foreword by Bram Stoker's great-nephew, and includes the never-before-published prologue to Stoker's theatrical version of Dracula.

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An Interesting Collection.......2006-03-24

A very interesting collection of stories , including some very rare material by Bram Stoker not to be found anywhere else i.e. the original theatrical play based on 'Dracula'. However I would recommend this as a follow up to the classic "Mammoth Book of Vampire Stories" in the same series which is an absolute MUST READ for any vampire fiction / horror fiction fan

Disappointing.......2000-11-10

This book is a mish mash of recycled and rehashed Dracula Stories (though- not stooping too low as to include Peewee vs Dracula).

Though some of the stories might spark your interest.... for a while. Instead of something to keep you sleepless- this book has degenerated to an alternative cure for insomnia.

Got it for the Newman story, but enjoyed the rest also........1999-03-23

I do not consider myself to be a big Horror fan. I have read all of Lovecraft's works, and recently have been enjoying Kim Newman's Anno Dracula series. A comment that Newman posted on this site led me to get this book for his story, "Coppola's Dracula." That was definitely my favorite story in the book, but I was pleasantly surprised that most of the other stories were decent as well. Like almost all anthologies, there are some stories that were not so hot, but there were no absolute clunkers, in my view. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys horror fiction, whether they are a long-time fan, or a relative new-comer like I am.

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