Taking Control of IT Costs: A Business Managers Guide

Customer Reviews:

Refreshingly practical and achievable approach.......2002-08-12

This is a no-nonsense, straightforward approach to establishing and keeping control of IT costs. The author shows IT managers how to employ proven cost management techniques that operational lines of business use to understand IT costs and to make sound business decisions with respect to managing IT budgets and expenditures.

The first step is to analyze cost management, and the book provides a three-step healthcheck to help you to get a handle on this aspect. Second, you are shown how to trace cost allocations in a manner that borrows heavily from activity-based cost management techniques. The next step in the book's approach is to develop a strategy and supporting tactics for achieving efficiency. Then chapter on key performance indicators and benchmarking shows you what you should be measuring and how to compare your cost management posture with industry norms for your industry segment. This chapter also gives caveats about benchmarking to which you should pay close attention if you are new to benchmarking or frameworks because it's easy to lose sight of the objectives (cost management) when you're exploring this aspect of management. The book concludes with chapter that goes deeper into strategic planning, and two invaluable appendices on accounting techniques and typical cost structures.

What I particularly like about this book is there is no theory, silver bullets or preaching. It gives an approach that is not only achievable, but is consistent with standard practices in cost management in and out of thr IT domain.

Highly readable and filled with excellent information.......2001-07-06

My reason for reading this book was to get some ideas about how to control IT costs from an asset management point of view that I could incorporate into a comprehensive set of processes to be integrated into contact center management. Contact centers, also known as IT help desks, usually employ software that manage problems. The more sophisticated software also includes modules for service level management, change control and asset management. Taken together these form the foundation of service delivery and support - both of which are costly.

As I read through this book I began to gain a wider view of how to go about analyzing service delivery and support costs through a systematic analysis of cost allocations. The three IT expense health checks in chapter 2 were immediately useful because they addressed key performance indicators that show how well costs are managed, the impact standardization has on controlling costs, and the importance of gaining control over physical assets (this is directly related to my original reason for reading the book). Another gem I gleaned from this book is the fact that fixed costs are like a shell game - there is an apportionment of fixed costs, which are finite and driven by a budget, among functional areas. The trick is to make sure that the budget for fixed costs is apportioned in accordance with the importance of the areas to which they are targeted. Also interesting is the premise that budgets should be based on a mix of short- and long-term initiatives, which is different from common practice in that too often budgets are allocated to initiatives strictly based on priority or perceived importance.

This book deals with strategy as much as cost control, which is logical since both have some obvious relationships. Here too the book contained some excellent advice, the most sensible of which is that methodologies are not as important to a strategy as understanding the strategic issues and building an integrated team. This applies to both projects and operations, and should be carefully considered by anyone who rushes out to buy the latest tools (most of which lock you into a methodology) before thinking through the real goals and objectives. The two appendices were invaluable resources for reviewing accounting principles and giving a complete cost breakdown structure that is typical of most IT organizations.

Book Description

Manufacturing Data Structures "Comprehensive yet easy-to-read…Manufacturing Data Structures is filled with anecdotes, yet stresses the importance of maintaining data accuracy. It is valuable reading for all manufacturing managers." Jim Carnall Manufacturing Manager, Eastman Kodak "An entertaining and informative look at an important aspect of day to day business in the MRP II environment. It clearly shows how data structuring methodology can be directly applied to process industries such as the Personal Products/Health and Beauty business." Jeff L. Stevens Manager, Packaging Sciences, Chesebrough-Ponds Canada "Manufacturing Data Structures shows, in a very practical way, how manufacturing data can be used as a competitive weapon. It's a comprehensive guide, filled with solutions to everyday problems." Jim Hendrickson Plant Manager, Reckitt & Colman "An excellent book…Very useful on the subject of data foundations for manufacturing. It has suggested further opportunities for improvement in my own organisation." R.A. Watson Rolls-Royce Motor Cars "Manufacturing Data Structures will be of immense value to the practitioner…" Chris Cage ICI Pharmaceuticals

Customer Reviews:

Highly focused and essential for any ERP analyst/developer.......2002-06-19

This book is an essential reference for ERP analysts, developers and DBAs. It is unique in that it addresses data requirements for materials management within the context of manufacturing processes, with an emphasis on bills of materials.

The chapter on engineering change control stands out because this aspect of both data structures and process change management are not covered (or only lightly touched upon) in other ERP references. This chapter and its companion on implementing change add significant value to the book and reflect mature and best practices. I also liked the chapter on new product introduction and custom manufacturing because these aspects of the manufacturing process come with a different set of challenges and requirements from steady production processes.

Regardless of whether you're using SAP, Baan or another ERP package (or are developing custom applications to automate manufacturing materials management) this book will expose the relevant details of the data structures, which are the foundation of any application.

Average customer rating:
Manufacturing Data Structures : Building Foundations for Excellence With Bills of Materials and Process Information
Jerry; Coldrick, Andy; Sari, John Clement
Manufacturer: Oliver Wight Ltd Pub
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000MZBZRA

Book Description

This book adopts a public policy perspective in its examination of the way capital market intermediaries fund their market operations in eight of the most dynamic countries of East and Southeast Asia: Hong Kong, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, and Thailand. Concerns about the ability of securities firms to fund themselves came into prominence in the world's major financial markets during the 1980s. It is striking that similar concerns had not surfaced about the Asian capital markets, particularly given the weakness of their money markets. As the forces limiting demand for funds change in the future, the financial systems examined will encounter problems in responding to the new demands for liquidity. The strength of this book lies in its analytical and comparative approach, rather than simply acting as a descriptive tool. Audience: This book will appeal primarily to the group of people interested in these Asian financial markets: i.e. financial intermediaries, government officials, and scholars.

Book Description

Chemistry: Matter and Change is a comprehensive chemistry course of study designed for a first-year high school chemistry curriculum. The program incorporates features for strong math support and problem-solving development. The content has been reviewed for accuracy and significant enhancements have been made to provide a variety of interactive student- and teacher-driven technology support.

Customer Reviews:

A good book.......2006-05-24

I am a high school student taking a first-year chemistry course. Although it does that I have a great teacher, I think that this is a good book. However, it is not very challenging. It may be better for lower-level students, but students looking for a challenge or for AP level study do NOT want this book.

It seems to be great for lower-level students, however. It uses examples from real life in order to connect the seemingly abstract ideas of chemistry to the real physical world around us. However, for teachers looking to skip around the book instead of going throught the chapters in order, this is probably not the best choice.

Chemistry: Matter and Change.......2005-07-27

Book received in excellent condition and in timely manner. I would recommend using this site to other parents buying textbooks.

Book Description

Within the past five years, the international community has recognized that it may be possible, through programs of systematic study, to devise means to reduce and mitigate the occurrence of a variety of devastating natural hazards. Among these disasters are earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, floods, and landslides. The importance of these studies is underscored by the fact that within fifty years, more than a third of the world's population will live in seismically and volcanically active zones. The International Council of Scientific Unions, together with UNESCO and the World Bank, have therefore endorsed the 1990s as the International Decade of Natural Disaster Reduction (IDNDR), and are planning a variety of programs to address problems related to the predictability and mitigation of these disasters, particularly in third-world countries. Parallel programs have begun in a number of U.S. agencies.

Reduction and Predictability of Natural Disasters: Proceedings of the Workshop "Reduction and Predictability of Natural Disasters" Held January 5-9, 1994 ... in the Sciences of Complexity Proceedings)

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Reduction and Predictability of Natural Disasters: Proceedings of the Workshop "Reduction and Predictability of Natural Disasters" Held January 5-9, 1994 ... in the Sciences of Complexity Proceedings)
Turcotte Donald L.,Klein William Rundle John B.
Manufacturer: Perseus Books (Sd)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OP57SG

Book Description

This book presents a systematic and coherent approach to phase transitions and critical phenomena, namely the coherent-anomaly method (CAM theory) based on cluster mean-field approximations. The first part gives a brief review of the CAM theory and the second part a collection of reprints covering the CAM basic calculations, the Blume-Emery-Griffiths model, the extended Baxter model, the quantum Heisenberg model, zero-temperature phase transitions, the KT-transition, spin glasses, the self-avoiding walk, contact processes, branching processes, the gas-liquid transition and even non-equilibrium phase transitions.

Hayashibara Forum '95 International Symposium on Coherent Approaches to Fluctuations: Kyoto, Japan 17-20 July, 1995

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Hayashibara Forum '95 International Symposium on Coherent Approaches to Fluctuations: Kyoto, Japan 17-20 July, 1995

Manufacturer: World Scientific Pub Co Inc
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Science | Subjects | Books

General | Physics | Science | Subjects | Books

Introduction to the Theory of Critical Phenomena: Mean Field, Fluctuations and Renormalization

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Introduction to the Theory of Critical Phenomena: Mean Field, Fluctuations and Renormalization
D. I. Uzunov
Manufacturer: World Scientific Pub Co Inc
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Science | Subjects | Books

General | Physics | Science | Subjects | Books

All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
ASIN: 9810203896

Physics of Critical Fluctuations (Graduate Texts in Contemporary Physics)

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Physics of Critical Fluctuations (Graduate Texts in Contemporary Physics)
Yuli M. Ivanchenko , and Alexander A. Lisyansky
Manufacturer: Springer
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Science | Subjects | Books

General | Physics | Science | Subjects | Books

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

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Science | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
ASIN: 0387944141

Book Description

Building on Wilson's renormalization group, the authors have developed a unified approach that not only reproduces known results but also yields new results. A systematic exposition of the contemporary theory of phase transitions, the book includes detailed discussions of phenomena in Heisenberg magnets, granular super-conducting alloys, anisotropic systems of dipoles, and liquid-vapor transitions. Suitable for advanced undergraduates as well as graduate students in physics, the text assumes some knowledge of statistical mechanics, but is otherwise self-contained.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Physics. Thesis. 1976. Ph. D

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Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Physics. Thesis. 1976. Ph. D
Jeffrey Arthur Tarvin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: B0006WHTAQ

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Physics of Critical Fluctuations
Yuli M./ Lisyansky, Alexande Ivanchenko
Manufacturer: Springer Verlag 01/1//1995
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000N5QNUI

Uniform treatment of fluctuations at critical points (Professional paper / Center for Naval Analyses)

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Uniform treatment of fluctuations at critical points (Professional paper / Center for Naval Analyses)
Marc Mangel
Manufacturer: Center for Naval Analyses
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

Book Description

Exposing some of the greatest witicisms ever uttered, these humorous quotes are from many of the most celebrated sharp-tongued women in history, from Queen Elizabeth I and Catherine the Great to Dorothy Parker and Jane Austen.

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This Terrible Sound

Fantastic Military History Book

To hear and smell a battle

Defeat snatched from the jaws of Victory

Expert treatment of the ACW turning point in the West...

This Terrible Sound: THE BATTLE OF CHICKAMAUGA (Civil War Trilogy)
Peter Cozzens
Manufacturer: University of Illinois Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | 19th Century | United States | Americas | History | Subjects | Books
General | United States | Americas | History | Subjects | Books
General | Civil War | United States | Americas | History | Subjects | Books
General | Military | History | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

No Better Place to Die: THE BATTLE OF STONES RIVER (Civil War Trilogy)

The Shipwreck of Their Hopes: THE BATTLES FOR CHATTANOOGA (Civil War Trilogy)

The Darkest Days of the War: The Battles of Iuka and Corinth (Civil War America)

The Battle Of The Wilderness, May 5-6, 1864

Decision in the West: The Atlanta Campaign of 1864 (Modern War Studies)

ASIN: 0252065948

Customer Reviews:

This Terrible Sound.......2007-09-14

Well written, with excellent maps/diagrams showing locations of various units over time. Lots of military facts but also insight into indvidual soldier's lives.

Fantastic Military History Book.......2007-08-16

I've read it twice, and it might just be the best Civil War book I ever read. Maps are clear, crisp, and totally tie into what you're reading. Whenever I felt a map was needed, there it seemed to be a page or two ahead.
Just a note: like someone else said, it's detailed. Not for the casual person who just wants to read about the human element. This is a detailed account of the movements of regiments, brigades, divisions. But all the same, it's not a dry book either. That's what makes it one of the best i've ever read.

To hear and smell a battle.......2006-11-11

I have read several books of the battle of Chickamauga, but none as factual and well researched as "This Terrible Sound". This is by far the best factual account I have read that I would recommend to all serious civil war students.

Defeat snatched from the jaws of Victory.......2005-08-05

Peter Cozzens is one of those amazing writers that brings you onto the field and helps you keep up with Cleburne's Division as it move through the dusk shrouded woods or causes your pulse to race as you watch USA Gen. Lytle's command trying to decide whether to save their dying commander or flee as the Rebs pound up the hill.

This accounting of the Battle of Chickamauga is first rate and thrilling. The profusion of regimental and brigade disposition maps are particularly useful for any serious visit to the battlefield.

There are some intriguing ideas introduced as well. Forrest's role in the early stages of the battle are fascinating to read and to contemplate. They also are revealing of the ammunition problems that plagued all mounted units. A problem that would hinder Forrest's command at Spring Hill a year later.

A great read and highly recommended.

Expert treatment of the ACW turning point in the West..........2004-09-01

The year 1863 was truly a seminal one for the American Civil War...the famous battles at Chancellorsville, Gettysburg and Vicksburg have all been imminently researched and expounded upon with many very excellent histories published throughout the years. The same unfortunately cannot be said for the equally pivotal and provocative battle at Chickamauga Creek in northwest Georgia (Spetember 1863). Peter Cozzens, then, has added greatly to the abundance of published Civil War histories with "This Terrible Sound", a modern study of this battle that correctly places it in it's proper context as a major turning point for the Western theatre and indeed the entire war.

Following the Federal victory at Vicksburg, President Lincoln sensing a momentum swing to the Northern effort, places his next great emphasis on the Union Army of the Cumberland, stationed at Murfreesboro, Tennessee following the Federal "victory" at the battle of Stones River (essentially a standoff with the Confederates retreating following the battle). William Stark Rosecrans' Federal force is "encouraged" to attack and subdue the rail center at Chattanooga...with the ultimate goal of using it as the base for further invasion efforts in the South. Defending the roads to Chattanooga, is Confederate General Braxton Bragg, the much maligned and, at the time of Chickamauga, the very ill leader of the rebel forces. Cozzens establishes both a physical and mental picture of both Generals that is neither favorable or complimentary. Regardless, Rosecrans establishes the immediate advantage with a detailed and complex troop movement that faces off with and defeates the Confederates at Tullahoma. Outnumbered and in disarray, the rebels retreat to Chattanooga and await Rosecrans next movement. The Federals continue with the complex manuevers and outflank the Confederates, driving them out of Chattanooga and to the southwest into Georgia, where they settle and await the inevitable Union advance. Rosecrans, sensing that he has the Confederate army on the run, allows his troops to squander valuable time negotiating and reconnoitering the mountainous regions south of Chattanooga. The Confederates, meanwhile, reinforce their troops with forces from Mississippi and the Army of Northern Virginia. The armies thus converge and ultimately meet in the dense forest West of Chickamauga Creek in norhtwest Georgia. Cozzens expertly coveys both this initial overall strategy and individual soldier perspective as he sets up the ensuing battle.

Braxton Bragg's intelligence forces inform him that the Federals have advanced southeast into Georgia...giving him the obvious recourse to attack the Union left flank and cut them off from retreat back to Chattanooga. This is the strategy that Bragg sticks with throughout the struggle and the one whereby he proves to be the most inflexable. Cavalry engagements at Jays Mill on the Western side of Chickamauga Creek start the battle and it immediately degenerates into a disorganized and largley unsupervised slugfest. The action rolls to the southwest with major first-day encounters at Winfrey and Brock Fields...ultimately ending with the Federals still in control of the major roadway out of the battlefield, the LaFayette Road and major breastworks established around this road in the Kelly Field. Cozzens deftly describes these engagements in sometimes excruciating detail as brigade and company level strategy is discussed. He also continues to convey the everday soldier perspective with many journal and diary entries that give true meaning to the atrocities of the battle.

The second day's struggles start with an abortive Confederate attack that ensues three hours late. The rebel army's high command continues to be in disarray and Bragg continues to push for the attack to focus on the Federal left. The initial battle around the Kelly Field breastworks results in major destruction for the Confederate forces, but an erroneous brigade movement opens up a hole in the Federal lines that ultimately proves to be it's undoing. James Longstreet's command from Virginia fortunately charges this opening at the same time that it is established and pushes the right side of the Union army to retreat...only a small and determined force under Union General George Thomas stays on the field and holds off the Confederate advance long enough to allow the balance of the Federal army to retreat back to Chattanooga and ultimately earning him the sobriquet "the Rock of Chickamauga". Cozzens again is precise and expository in his descriptions of these encounters...he really has a talent for integrating detailed troop movements with these soldier perspectives that give immediacy and feeling to the reader that the soldiers certainly must have felt. The second day bloodshed was worse then the first day's and Cozzens manages this balance brilliantly.

With the end of the second day, Thomas retreats his force back to Chattanooga and the Confederates own the field. Cozzens again details the lack of forward thinking on Braxton Bragg's part as the natural strategy then would be to pursue the Federals and defeat them in detail...Bragg chooses to wait and is villified by the Confederate command. Rosecrans is releved following the defeat with Thomas commanding the Army of the Cumberland and Ulysses Grant given overall command of the Western Army...a command that turned the tide ultimately in the Union favor with the ensuing victory at the battle of Chattanooga and the William T. Sherman drive from Chattanooga to Atlanta and beyond.

Prompted by a recent visit to this distinguished battlefield (the National Park Service is to be commended for beautifully maintaining this field), I undertook this work to supplement my battlefield tour experience. This book certainly is a detailed look at the battle and I'm sure that my glowing review was slightly slanted by the fact that I was able to picture the terrain that Cozzens so comprehensively describes. Notwithstanding the abundance of detail, this work should undoubtedly stand as the historical standard by which this battle was described and should be on the shelf of anyone interested in the Civil War western theatre.

This Terrible Sound: The Battle of Chickamauga

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This Terrible Sound: The Battle of Chickamauga
Peter Cozzens
Manufacturer: EASTON PRESS
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000VFHSLI

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This Terrible Sound : The Battle of Chickamauga
Peter Cozzens
Manufacturer: Univ of Illinois Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000OMEAZU

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This Terrible Sound: The Battle of Chickamauga
Peter Cozzens
Manufacturer: U. of Illinois
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000NZ7N5M

This Terrible Sound: The Battle of Chickamauga (Civil War Trilogy)

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This Terrible Sound: The Battle of Chickamauga (Civil War Trilogy)
Peter Cozzens
Manufacturer: University of Illinois Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OQBM7U

Book Description

As an inquiry into the consumption rather than the production of culture, this volume argues that culture does not become culture until it is consumed. Leading US and European specialists explore topics such as the formation of a culture-consuming public, the development of a literary canon, the role of consumption in the formation of the modern state, elite and popular forms of cultural consumption and the place of women as consumers of culture.

Book Description

Mental reflexivity, or metamentation -- a mind thinking about its own thoughts -- underpins reflexive consciousness, deliberation, self-evaluation, moral judgment, the ability to think ahead, and much more. Yet relatively little in philosophy or psychology has been written about what metamentation actually is, or about why and how it came about. In this book, Radu Bogdan proposes that humans think reflexively because they interpret each other's minds in social contexts of cooperation, communication, education, politics, and so forth. As naive psychology, interpretation was naturally selected among primates as a battery of practical skills that preceded language and advanced thinking. Metamentation began as interpretation mentally rehearsed: through mental sharing of attitudes and information about items of common interest, interpretation conspired with mental rehearsal to develop metamentation.

Drawing on philosophical, psychological, and evolutionary perspectives, Bogdan analyzes the main phylogenetic and ontogenetic stages through which primates' abilities to interpret other minds evolve and gradually create the opportunities and resources for metamentation. Contrary to prevailing views, he concludes that metamentation benefits from, but is not a predetermined outcome of, logical abilities, language, and consciousness.

Customer Reviews:

An excellent step forward..........2001-02-19

Bogdan's thesis is the fact that, "operating in mental rehearsal, interpretation served as emulable blueprint for reflexive thinking". That is, self conscious thought both evolved and continues to evolve from early interpretation abilities.

Bogdan brings together both his philosophical insight into his exploration of how and why we are able to think about thoughts as thoughts as well as a significant amount of psychological literature going back to Vygotsky. The question of metamentation (thinking about thoughts requires understanding of thoughts as thoughts, as mental structures that represent in his words) and how it could possibly 'bootstrap' itself is still very much unexplored by present-day philosopher's; I suspect this is put in the "hard" question bin along with many other aspects of consciousness.

Bogdan's book is fascinating since it, at least to me, demonstrates that philosophers are finally beginning to abandon their ivory (in many senses of the word) towers and get their hands dirty with some empirical evidence. That is, as opposed to Chalmers and his zombies Bogdan actually maps his ideas to some concrete observations.

Bogdan argues that our ability for self-reflexivity develops due to our helplessness as an infant. Because we need a high level of care we must, out of necessity, develop an ability to interpret other minds in a social context. Our prodigious language skills simply develop out of this base interpretation layer as icing on the cake...

This is not a light read by any account; I needed a couple runs through to digest all of his points. However, I believe that may have something to do with the framework I (and those of us ensnared in Western ideas of what philosophy is supposed to do) possess, not his writing. In fact, this is quite a "readable" book while still maintaining rigorous arguments.

Hopefully this book will provoke a lot of new exploration in psychology, philosophy, AI and neurology. Also recommended are Austin's "Zen and the Brain", Perlovsky's "Neural Networks and Intellect" and Wilson's "Spikes, Decisions, and Actions". For some non-linear exploration I suggest Sartwell's "The Art of Living" and Flemons' "Completing Distinctions". Actually, Faber's old "Objectivity and Human Perception" may help understanding Bogdan's developments as well.

Metamentaion.......2000-04-20

Metamentation is where it's at! If you're thinking about thinking you're metamentating. If you're thinking about buying this book, you're a good thinker. But how are you on action?

Book Description

Professional wildlife care and rehabilitation for a general audience. Safe, step-by-step text and picture guidance for back-yard rehabilitators. Provides first aid and rescue techniques, along with proper diet, housing and release techniques for small

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