Vital Signs: Using Quality, Time, and Cost Performance Measurements to Chart Your Company's Future

Customer Reviews:

Basic, but with sound approach.......2004-06-18

This is a relatively basic book on using key performance metrics. The foundation of the approach is TQM, with a nice focus on how to use associated techniques to gather, analyze and manage the metrics. Some of the material is wrapped in "Quantum Performance" and its associated measurement matrix. The terminology and approach embodied in these are, at the basic level, a refactoring and tailoring of existing tools and techniques.

I like the way effective tools ranging from affinity diagrams to statistical process control charts are employed throughout the book. The realistic examples using these tools and techniques the tactical and strategic levels makes this book especially valuable to companies that have embraced TQM. However, each tool or technique can be effectively used in environments in which management is seeking a systematic way to measure the right things for competitive advantage.

Another valuable aspect of this book is the focus on processes, and how they apply to the big picture of performance measurement.

Overall, this is an easy-to-read book that is equally easy to understand and apply. Aside from a few unique perspectives and the focus on TQM and associated tools, the material is not groundbreaking. That is not to say that this book does not merit a place on your reading list if you are seeking a systematic performance measurement program, because the approach set forth is valid and will prove effective in the real world. I recommend reading this book as a starting point, then augmenting the knowledge gained with "Operational Performance Measurement: Increasing Total Productivity" (ISBN 1574440993) to get a complete picture before embarking on any performance measurement initiative.

For corporate controllers on a mission ..........1999-08-17

Just because this book was written to justify Arthur Anderson's best practices business doesn't mean it's not useful! Mike Hronec does a good job of making a case for developing appropriate performance measurements and sketches an outline for a robust process to get you there. Actually putting the plan into action is another story. Nonetheless, corporate controllers should read this book, if only to promote thinking about how effective their organizations' performance measures are in improving performance. Adam Lefton (adamleft@webspan.net)

Quality gibberish, but very insightful despite itself........1998-12-30

I think this book has the potential to be a New York Times #1 Bestseller if it would only change the subject matter completely.

Book Description

Entrepreneurs face a multitude of challenges when setting up and growing their business venture. This is even more so for entrepreneurs in emerging markets and developing countries. Access to finance is often the main challenge. The Venture Capital and Private Equity for Development Index gives access to the major funds financing business in Latin America, Asia and Africa. This practical guide has an easy to use index with funds listed by key fund attributes such as regions, sectors and company size financed. It lists over 270 funds investing in developing countries.

The Index is compiled by the Business in Development program of Dutch National Committee for International Cooperation and Sustainable Development (NCDO) in cooperation with the Adapppt Foundation in The Netherlands.

Book Description

This book is an original contribution to the field of law and literature. In addition to seeing law as a form of literature, it sees literature as a form of law, and examines the law-making qualities of fiction to explore the fiction-making qualities of law. Its examples range from Greek myth to contemporary writing, film and popular music, and suggest new ways of living with and entering the legal labyrinth. Aristodemou's style is both accessible and entertaining. The book is aimed at undergraduates and postgraduates in law as well as other disciplines concerned with law and literature, jurisprudence, and other options addressing the intersections between law and culture.

Law and Literature : Journeys From Her to Eternity

Average customer rating:

Law and Literature : Journeys From Her to Eternity
Maria Aristodemou
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OKVW9O

Book Description

This book provides readers with an Earth system perspective and engages them in active learning and inquiry about their home planet. It contains readings, questions, and exercises that will cultivate a greater appreciation for the planet Earth and its inhabitants, and demonstrate how relevant Earth Science is to our lives and communities Recurring themes—interactions of spheres, scale, cycles, energy, humans and the earth system—are woven throughout the five chapters which cover an introduction to the earth system, geosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere, and cosmosphere. For anyone who wants to explore the science of the Earth.

Customer Reviews:

Good reference work for persons working on related problems.......1997-11-20

This book is a valuable reference for persons working on problems relating to electromagnetic or acoustical scattering. The book contains little fluff, instead getting right to the point. For cases of the more complicated shapes covered in the book, (I worked with the prolate spheroid), the reader is refered to other works to educate themselves in the relevant functions.

Average customer rating:

A great read

Entrancing and Revolutionary!!

I cannot believe this is fiction!

In the beginning...

Sarah and her family are so real!

I, the Divine: A Novel in First Chapters
Rabih Alameddine
Manufacturer: W. W. Norton & Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Classics | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Literary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Koolaids

The Language of Baklava: A Memoir

The Perv: Stories

Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid

The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals

ASIN: 0393323560

Book Description

Named after the "divine" Sarah Bernhardt, red-haired Sarah Nour El-Din is "wonderful, irresistibly unique, funny, and amazing," raves Amy Tan. Determined to make of her life a work of art, she tries to tell her story, sometimes casting it as a memoir, sometimes a novel, always fascinatingly incomplete. "Alameddine's new novel unfolds like a secret... creating a tale...humorous and heartbreaking and always real" (Los Angeles Times).

"[W]ith each new approach, [Sarah] sheds another layer of her pretension, revealing another truth about her humanity" (San Francisco Weekly). Raised in a hybrid family shaped by divorce and remarriage, and by Beirut in wartime, Sarah finds a fragile peace in self-imposed exile in the United States. Her extraordinary dignity is supported by a best friend, a grown-up son, occasional sensual pleasures, and her determination to tell her own story. "Like her narrative, [Sarah's] life is broken and fragmented. [But] the bright, strange, often startling pieces...are moving and memorable" (Boston Globe). Reading group guide included.

Customer Reviews:

A great read.......2005-12-09

An amazing work. Beautiful writing, captivating story. I couldn't put it down.

Entrancing and Revolutionary!!.......2005-08-13

I've just finished reading I, the Divine. I bought it only two days ago. it's indeed one of the subtlest and most engaging novels i've ever read, and the most innovative ever. The novel has anything but a chronological order and doesn't abide by one narrative technique; it uses as many as you can imagine..from stream of consciousness, to flash-backs, omniscient narrator here and first-person there. It's entirely written in first chapters where some stories resume pages after they started. Sometimes the same story is re-told in a different style- or language!- the moment you think your mind had shifted far from it. At one point, you get the impression that you're reading more than one novel by different authors!
The characters are intricately sketched, through different points of view. The dialogues are cleverly made, suggestive and most importantly genuine and true. A Lebanese myself, I couldn't but identify with all the Lebanese characters in the story. Amazing!
Rabih Alameddine, we're proud of you.

I cannot believe this is fiction!.......2004-08-31

Just like Adonis noted, this novel is completely on point. The life that Sarah Nour El-Din shares with us is one that is rarely so succinctly shown in public, with such truth - especially since Arabs/Arab American's do not ever like to air their "dirty laundry".

It had me completely addicted - It was as if I was watching glimpses of my family and friends lives...and that I was Sarah.

In the beginning..........2003-07-19

This book was a treat. I picked it up at a "2books for 10£" sale at a book store in London, as a companion to justify my other purchase.

I had vaguely heard of the author, Rabih Alameddine, who I believe has been championed by follow Lebanese, historian/author Edward Said. It wasnt until I read the gushing reviews from fellow authors inside that I realized the author was male.

As everybody knows by now, the book is written in a series of first chapters of a book. It was an interesting approach that did take a little while to get used to. Some of the chapters do indeed read like first chapters, and those validate the unique approach well. Others chapters felt less genuine in this regard and understandably, those felt a little gimmicky.

Overall the author does a good job in fleshing the story of Sarah Nour el- Din's life; a story that is being "written" by the protagonist as a memoir. He stumbles a bit in the beginning, and left this reader initially feeling like he had little clue as to how to inhabit the mind of a female character. After a few rough early chapters, Alameddine does a better job in capturing the neccesary nuances. And it is there that the story takes off.

Sarah's "family" is fascinating-- totally disfunctional but ever so clannish. As the novel builds momentum, it is easy to be drawn into the lives of each of the seemingly periferal characters-- fathers, mothers, sons, siblings and lovers.

Something worth noting:
The writing style in a few of the chapters was contrived and annoying-- but as I finished the book I was left with the impression that this was probably intentional. I think it was an effective way to show us the fits and starts that we all experince whenever we sit down to chronicle our own lives either orally or by pen.

I am looking forward to reading Alameddine's first novel "Koolaids."

Sarah and her family are so real!.......2002-10-10

I could not believe that the book is fiction. I laughed, cried, and felt the terror with Sarah. Sarah has an incredible multi-dimensional story interconnected with every member of her family. All of this while trying to figure out where she belongs. Rabih's story telling style let you gaze through the eyes of key people in the story, making you a willing participant in Sarah's life.

Rabih did an excellent job by guiding the reader through the ups and downs of her life, and bringing forward the intricate quarks of the Lebanese Druze culture and the language.

As a Druze and Arab-American, I connected with Sarah and her family from the first pages until the Introduction at the end. I was glued to the book, which I read in one day, although I am not an avid book reader. I also love the never ending chapter 1.

However there are two parts that I did not favor, chapter 1, pp 192-201 due to violence, and pp 231-240 for the dream/faint sequence. Other than that the book is excellent.

Average customer rating:
I, The Divine: A Novel in First Chapters
Rabih Alameddine
Manufacturer: Weidenfeld & Nicolson
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000ORMOV2

Book Description

Book Description

The economic crisis that began with the American stock market crash of 1929 had dire effects all over the world, particularly in Europe. The Great Depression and New Deal: Almanac covers the era in 16 subject chapters. Also included are 95 black-and-white photographs, a timeline and subject index

Book Description

This third, revised edition comprises the whole of the original volume and is enhanced by the addition of a new preface and afterward which seek to reply to criticisms of the authors argument about the origins of the Falashas, and include some new thinking on the subject. Drawing on tradition and legend to reinforce his argument, the author again traces the source of the community to the Jewish settlements which existed in ancient Egypt (particularly at Elephantine on the Nile) and in the ancient Meroitic Kingdom, in present day Sudan known in the Bible as Cush.

The story told in this book is remarkable, heroic and stimulating and makes a valuable contribution to our understanding of the history of the horn of Africa.

Customer Reviews:

ETHIOPIANS HAVE NEVER BEEN JEWS!!!!.......2007-08-15

What on earth is the point of inventing Jewish roots concerning these deceptive Ethiopians when everybody knows too well why they became Jews: only because it was the only possibility for them to immigrate to Israel only for economic reasons (to flee their undescribable poverty).

Were these Ethiopians Jews in Ethiopia? NO! NEVER EVER!! They were Christians! A significant number of them in Israel returned to their Christian faith even though most of them decided to keep being Jew because they felt it was safer for them to do so in Israel (despite the fact that there is freedom of faith for Christians and Muslims)!!

In the history of the Jewish people, there has never ever been members of the Jewish people who were black. Never! Blacks can become Jews today through conversion if they convert without inventing false stories but there is not a group of Jews in the history of the Jewish people who were black Jews! NEVER!
I already hear some people reading my comments who might be tempted to say that I am racist but I am telling these people that I am fine accepting blacks who convert to Judaism without inventing false stories in order to convert. To invent false stories in order to convert renders the conversion process completely invalid!!

To have converted Jewish Orthodox these Ethiopians do not make them Jews in any way simply because they used deception to convert to Judaism with the goal of immigrating to Israel ONLY FOR ECONOMIC REASONS. They converted only to flee their awful poverty that they were suffering in Ethiopia where they were living in mud huts and nearly all of them, except their leaders, were completely illiterate (they could not read nor write and they did not have access to the simplest books or writing items!!). Later on, these American Jews who have pushed them to convert gave them books, taught them how to read, and more.

Why did they become Jews? American Jews who did not want to move to Israel felt guilty by their lack of willingness to move to Israel. They were working on outreach projects in Ethiopia and saw that these people were potentially ready to convert in order to move to Israel with the only goal of fleeing their poverty. They made them Jews by teaching them Judaism, giving their leaders Old Testament books to read and so on. Worse, they invented for them Jewish roots, telling the Jewish world that these Ethiopians were Jews!!! What a shame!!
Then, they showed movies of them with Jewish items and praying and they told the viewers of these movies that they have kept Jewish traditions for centuries!! What an awful deception!

All these books on the so-called Ethiopian Jews and the movies about them, they are all completely invented stories where these Ethiopian are given completely invented Jewish roots!

This book deserves a zero because it is based on pure lies!! That is as simple as that!!

Wow.......2001-03-22

After reading about the Khazars and thinking very little information existed about them and their past, I am amazed at how little is known about 'Ethiopian' Judaism. Mr. Kessler, one of the best sources on the subject, describes to the best of current information the history of the Beta Israel, definitely taking the view that these people are anciently related to Judaism.

His views are controversial -- many have claimed that the source of the Beta Israel was from the Arabian Peninsula, or a break-off from Ethiopian Christianity, although I find the latter hard to believe. I am currently reading other works about them written by Steven Kaplan and other.

Very little is known about the Beta Israel, hopefully much more research will be devoted to understanding them, their past, their history, their customs and their beliefs. I firmly believe that these people are Jews descended, as they believe, from Solomon. Luckily these people are still alive while other groups have unfortunately been relegated to history.

I highly recommend this work and I'm pretty sure most will enjoy it! Thank you David Kessler for all your study and devotion to this topic and to the Beta Israel.

Average customer rating:
The Falashas: A Short History of the Ethiopian Jews. (book reviews): An article from: Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies
Haim Rosen
Manufacturer: Commission for Racial Equality
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital
ASIN: B00098C0OW
Release Date: 2005-07-28

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, published by Commission for Racial Equality on January 1, 1998. The length of the article is 592 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: The Falashas: A Short History of the Ethiopian Jews. (book reviews)
Author: Haim Rosen
Publication: Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies (Magazine/Journal)
Date: January 1, 1998
Publisher: Commission for Racial Equality
Volume: v24 Issue: n1 Page: p218(1)

Article Type: Book Review

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Book Description

The Wild Side features amazing, strange, and unbelievable nonfiction selections that students will want to read. Each book includes new exercises and activities that improve reading comprehension and critical thinking skills.

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Parks & Recreation, published by Thomson Gale on February 1, 2004. The length of the article is 580 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Michael Weiss, three-time U.S. National Figure Skating Champion.(Power Play)
Author: Gale Reference Team
Publication: Parks & Recreation (Magazine/Journal)
Date: February 1, 2004
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 39 Issue: 2 Page: 100(1)

Distributed by Thomson Gale

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