Understanding the Bottom Line: Finance for Non-Financial Managers and Supervisors

Understanding the Bottom Line: Finance for Non-Financial Managers and Supervisors
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Understanding the Bottom Line: Finance for Non-Financial Managers and Supervisors
Randolph Pohlman , and Randolph A. Pohlman
Manufacturer: National Press Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Accounting | Industries & Professions | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
General | Accounting | Accounting & Finance | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1558520341

Book Description

Why has Chrysler been twice as profitable as GM and Ford during the 1990s even though it is a much smaller company with plants that are less efficient than Ford's? Why does Toyota continue to have substantial productivity and quality advantages long after knowledge of the Toyota Production System has diffused to competitors? The answer, according to Jeff Dyer, is that Toyota and Chrysler have been the first in their industry to recognize that the fundamental unit of competition has changed--from the individual firm to the extended enterprise. In this book Dyer demonstrates the power of collaborative advantage, arguing that, in the future, competitive advantage will increasingly be created by teams of companies, rather than by the single firm. Managers who do not recognize this development--regardless of their industry--are in danger of adopting the wrong strategies for their firms. Dyer draws on eight years of study of the automotive industry, including a wealth of data from interviews with over 200 executives and surveys of over 500 suppliers, as he offers detailed case studies of Toyota and Chrysler to show managers how to create collaborative advantage with their supplier networks. Dyer demonstrates how to build trust in the extended enterprise, how to exploit and manage knowledge (describing how Toyota manages knowledge across organizational boundaries), and how to create advantages through dedicated asset investments. In turn, these processes generate stunning performance advantages and an identity for the extended enterprise. To be successful in future years, executives will have to convert their corporations into fully integrated, extended enterprises. In Collaborative Advantage, Jeff Dyer shows them how.

Customer Reviews:

Success through suppliers.......2003-01-17

The pursuit of knowledge that gives us an understanding of factors that determine success in the market place has always considered "the firm" as the unit of analysis. This has been the case with microeconomics, game theory, competitive strategy and many such specialized areas of research. Cartels that manipulate supply and prices are perhaps an exception to this rule. If, instead of considering the firm as the unit, we consider a group of firms teaming together to collectively provide value to the customer and succeed as a unique identity as a unit of analysis, the methodology to understand competition would undergo a paradigm shift. This book is precisely about this concept as applicable to the automobile industry.

In the early half of the last century it was possible to go to the countryside for a picnic in a Ford Model T car, disassemble and reassemble it with a simple wrench and drive back home in the evening. Today we need computers to diagnose even a simple problem under the hood of cars tailor made to suit individual needs. Given the increase in complexity, explosion of technology and customer preferences, it is impossible for a single firm to ever think of manufacturing even half the components. (River Rouge will be remembered in history as the most ambitious plan of an automotive giant to make all parts of the automobile - including steel and timber from within the company. At best a fairy tale for kids of the twenty first century!).

This book is the summary of an excellent research study of the automobile industry in the 1990's with focus on Toyota and Chrysler. These companies have significantly different "governance structure" (the proportion of parts made in-house, procured from partner firms, and from arms'-length suppliers) from their competitors- GM and Ford. The firms that have a higher proportion of parts that are bought from partner suppliers have a clear edge over competitors that use arm's-length suppliers for the same parts. Extensive data has been collected, analyzed and tested to substantiate the statements made in the text.

Three characteristics that distinguish between partner suppliers from arm's length suppliers- Dedicated asset investments, Knowledge sharing routines and Inter-firm trust form the virtuous triangle that make these partnerships succeed. The results of such partnerships show clearly in tangible terms - Higher profitability per vehicle, better quality, faster time to market, and more new models for customers; the key parameters that enable Toyota and Chrysler to drive at top speed. "It 's not the big that eat the small but it's the fast that eat the slow".

Taking lessons from Toyota, Chrysler adopts concrete programs to consolidate its suppliers, integrate and partner with them to deliver higher value at lower cost to the customer.

Though this research is restricted to the automobile industry, the fundamental principles of "extended enterprise" can be extended across industries.

Highly recommended for all managers and a must read for those working in procurement processes. Next time your supplier drops in, think of this book and start a new relationship.

A Masterpiece.......2001-04-07

Having followed Dyer's other research, I think that this is a theoretically elegant piece of work. He builds further on his pieces in SMJ (with Singh from Wharton) and AMR and illustrates the concepts of relationship-based assets in firm networks. The running exemplar has he uses (Toyota) illustrates his theoretical arguments quite elonquently. The book also highlights the limitations of his concept of collaborative advantage, and his closing chapter illustrates how cultural differences (here with Benz) can keep this strategy from becoming reality. This book is not for folks looking for cut-out recipies. This book is a MUST for researchers and managers who like to think instead of searching for cookbooks! The concluding chapter is a gem because it highlights our gaps in knowledge. This is an excellent book, and having read Dyer's other works, it's high quality comes as very little surprise. Buy, own, read, reread, and profusely highlight your own copy! VERY highly recommended.

Highly Recomended!.......2001-03-23

Jeffrey Dyer, an accomplished scholar and management teacher, has developed a cogent and sophisticated theory of extended enterprise management based on a wealth of empirical data from the history of Toyota in Japan and from his six-year study of Chrysler Corp. before its merger with Daimler-Benz. Beyond being a detailed and rigorous case study of the automobile manufacturing industry, Dyer's book presents an extremely valuable model for vertical integration. His model can be applied to other complex product industries, though he is honest about the limits of its applicability. This book provides a clear, effective blueprint for achieving value-chain collaboration. We [...] recommend it to consultants, executives in complex product industries and leaders in firms that supply components or materials. If you always suspected you were part of a greater whole, now you can be sure.

Collaborative Advantage: Winning Through Extended Enterprise Supplier Networks

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Collaborative Advantage: Winning Through Extended Enterprise Supplier Networks
Jeffrey H. Dyer
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OKL2S0

Book Description

A company can be investigated by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) for a range of civil and criminal actions, and an investigation into the affairs of a company can have far reaching implications for all those involved. In 1995-1996 there were 3,151 requests for DTI consideration of which 1,341 were accepted for formal consideration. There were a further 400 investigations under the Companies Acts and section 44 of the Insurance Act 1982. This book not only deals with these statutory investigations themselves, but it places them in their public law context, studying in detail the large impact public law principles have had on this area of law.

Book Description

Researchers in spatial statistics and image analysis are familiar with Gaussian Markov Random Fields (GMRFs), and they are traditionally among the few who use them. There are, however, a wide range of applications for this methodology, from structural time-series analysis to the analysis of longitudinal and survival data, spatio-temporal models, graphical models, and semi-parametric statistics. With so many applications and with such widespread use in the field of spatial statistics, it is surprising that there remains no comprehensive reference on the subject. Gaussian Markov Random Fields: Theory and Applications provides such a reference, using a unified framework for representing and understanding GMRFs. Various case studies illustrate the use of GMRFs in complex hierarchical models, in which statistical inference is only possible using Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) techniques. The preeminent experts in the field, the authors emphasize the computational aspects, construct fast and reliable algorithms for MCMC inference, and provide an online C-library for fast and exact simulation. This is an ideal tool for researchers and students in statistics, particularly biostatistics and spatial statistics, as well as quantitative researchers in engineering, epidemiology, image analysis, geography, and ecology, introducing them to this powerful statistical inference method.

Book Description

Nuclear Test Explosions Environmental and Human Impacts Edited by Sir Frederick Warner University of Essex, UK and Rene J.C. University of Liege, Belgium Nuclear Test Explosions summarises the findings of the international project SCOPE-RADTEST (Scientific Committee on Problems of the Environment - RADiation from nuclear TEST explosions), on the environmental and human impacts of nuclear tests. The location and dates of 730 explosions and the 2419 tests performed between 1945 and 1998 are given followed by discussion of their effects. The nuclear test sites include: Nevada, Semipalatinsk, Novaya Zemlya, South Pacific, Australia and Lob Nor. The fallout from 541 atmospheric tests and effects on human health and environment are assessed and the development of nuclear weapons is described. The contents of the book have been assembled by a team of experts and should greatly assist in the discussion of weapons limitation.

Book Description

This volume deals with laser physics emphasizing laser theory from a physical point of view. It takes into account most recent developments focussing on the dynamics. Proceeding from simple to more difficult questions, the book treats, among other topics: typical experimental laser systems, intensities of laser light in single and multimode lasers, mode competition, hole-burning, Q-switched lasers, relaxation-oscillations, frequency shifts, population pulsations, mode-locking, ultrashort pulses, self-pulsing, laser light chaos, instability hierarchies, laser gyro, optical bistability, optical transistor, two-photon laser, laser line width, Hanbury-Brown-Twiss experiment, intensity correlations, photon statistics, quantum classical correspondence, laser phase-transition analogy, the laser as a synergetic system.

Product Description

The biggest and best collection of Irish Kerryman jokes ever published. Jokes, riddles, one-liners, stories and inventions to thrill even the most politically-correct.

Book Description

Undoubtedly the most influential chivalric handbook of the middle ages, this work articulates the ideals expressed both in medieval romance and in the crucible of the medieval battlefield - this is a work written by an accomplished knight for a knightly audience. Rendered from the Caxton 1484 translation into modern English, it is accompanied by the anonymous Ordene de Chevalerie, another important and lively medieval account of the knighting ceremony.

Customer Reviews:

A moral guide for the warrior...past and present.......2007-01-17

Ramon Lull spent his youthful years as a knight in his native land of Catalonia (northeast Spain). During that time, his life very much resembled that of an Arthurian champion, experiencing adventures of both martial and amorous nature. In his later years, he experienced a religious enlightenment, and retired to the forest, to live as a hermit in meditation. He left all his wealth and lands to his children and became a hermit. Being an educated man, he devoted his time to writing a large quantity of books, in multiple languages.
One of his most important books, is this one, a moral guide-line for the ideals of Chivalry. This is a treatise on the highest idealized standards of behavior for the Christian warrior. Within, Ramon Lull described the virtues a knight should aspire to, and the vices he should avoid. He describes the test a candidate for knighthood should undergo, the duties a knight owes to his liege and those he would protect, the ceremony of knighting, and the symbolism of a knight's weapons, armor,and equipment.
There was no precisely defined and unified Code of Chivalry, but it was a general concept of right versus wrong, and what we know of it comes from other such books and Medieval lore passed down through the ages. Some Orders of knighthood did establish their own particular versions of the code, but they all largely emphasized the same noble virtues.
Not all knights lived up to this ideology, some, in fact ignored it completely. However, there were some knights who did indeed live up to this code as closely as a mortal man can.
In our increasingly cynical secularist age, with its concept of "moral relativism", the Code of Chivalry is needed now, more than ever.

A great book.......2003-07-26

Whether you're a medievalist, historian, martial artist, or an escapist role player who pretends that you're a knight, this book will teach you what REAL chivalry was. Anyone interested in european martial history, or in becoming a better person should read this. My thanks to mr. Price for making it available once again.

Book Description

A History of Blacks in Kentucky traces the role of blacks from the early exploration and settlement of Kentucky to 1891, when African Americans gained freedom only to be faced with a segregated society. Making extensive use of numerous primary sources such as slave diaries, Freedmen's Bureau records, church minutes, and collections of personal papers, the book tells the stories of individuals, their triumphs and tragedies, and their accomplishments in the face of adversity.

Book Description

i Elements of Shipping /i was first published in 1964 and has become established as a market leader over its many editions. This latest version is entirely updated to take in the many changes that have occurred in the shipping industry in recent years and features new chapters on multimodalism, seaports and electronic data interchange. br br Emphasis is also placed on professionalism and the need to have the latest technology and professionally qualified personnel to operate a shipping service today. It remains essential reading for the shipping executive along with students and academics with an interest in the shipping industry.

Customer Reviews:

Commercial Shipping made simple for the Layman.......2000-06-16

The book covers quite in elaborate and in simple language the Terms, Practices & Procedures involved in the Commercial Shipping Industry. Excellent material for Non-Technical New-Comers of the industry.

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Elements of Shipping
Alan Branch
Manufacturer: Routledge
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

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

Book Description

Since it was first published in 1964, Elements of Shipping has become established as a market leader. Now this new edition has been entirely updated and revised to take in the many changes that have occurred in the shipping industry in recent years and the increased emphasis placed on professionalism, qualified personnel and the need for the latest available technology.

With new chapters on seaports and electronic data interchange, it explains in a lucid, professional manner the basic elements of shipping embracing operating, e-commerce/computerization (shipboard/trade), commercial, legal, economic, technical, managerial, logistics and financial considerations. It also reflects recent major trends including the impact of globalization, current good practice and future trends. All twenty-two chapters have been updated and over half of the content is new.

Filling a gap for the discerning reader who wishes to have a complete understanding of all the elements of the global shipping scenetogether with the interface with seaports, international trade and logistics. It remains essential reading for shipping executives along with students and academics with an interest in the shipping industry.

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ELEMENTS OF SHIPPING
ALAN E. BRANCH
Manufacturer: CHAPMAN AND HALL
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000SB6FYQ

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ELEMENTS OF SHIPPING
ALAN E BRANCH
Manufacturer: CHAPMAN AND HALL
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000SII8VC

Ocean Shipping Elements of Practical Steamship Operation

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Ocean Shipping Elements of Practical Steamship Operation

Manufacturer: Century Co.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000FJ48SQ

Passenger and Immigration Lists Index: A Reference Guide to Published Lists of About 500,000 Passengers Who Arrived in America in the 17,18,19 Centu

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Passenger and Immigration Lists Index: A Reference Guide to Published Lists of About 500,000 Passengers Who Arrived in America in the 17,18,19 Centu
P. William Filby , William P. Filby , and Mary K. Meyer
Manufacturer: Gale Group
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Civil Rights & Liberties | Current Events | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0810310996

Introduction to shipbroking: The elements of the subject

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Introduction to shipbroking: The elements of the subject
Charles D Macmurray
Manufacturer: Pitman & Sons
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: B00089ESHE

An assessment of stress-strain data suitable for finite-element elastic-plastic analysis of shipping containers

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An assessment of stress-strain data suitable for finite-element elastic-plastic analysis of shipping containers
H. J Rack
Manufacturer: Available from National Technical Information Service
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: B0006XY4K8

The elements of an international shipping policy for Canada

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The elements of an international shipping policy for Canada
H. J Darling
Manufacturer: Transport Canada
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

General | Transportation | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B0006CLPN8

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Elements of Import Practice
Alan E. Branch
Manufacturer: Chapman & Hall
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Exports & Imports | Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

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Book Description

A Guide to Endangered and Threatened Species in Virginia is an abridged and updated version of the award-winning publication Virginia's Endangered Species (1991). An introduction summarizes Virginia's natural habitats, conservation laws, and the responsibilities of the various state agencies involved in the conservation of biotic diversity in the Commonwealth. Most of the book consists of one-page descriptions and discussions of those species of plant and animal that are officially listed as endangered or threatened in Virginia. A beautiful color photograph and map of occurrence is provided for almost every species.

This Guide is written in a style and format that will be enjoyed and understood by both professionals and laypersons. Its size, conciseness, and price make it an especially versatile, accessible, and useable reference and field tool for all who are interested in understanding and protecting Virginia's vulnerable natural heritage.

The entries in this Guide are from accounts prepared by more than 80 biologists from throughout Virginia. It contains the most current information available in printed form on the subject of vulnerable species in Virginia. Royalties from the sale of this book go to the Virginia Nongame and Endangered Wildlife Program.

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