The Assessment of Task Structure, Knowledge Base, and Decision Aids for a Comprehensive Inventory of Audit Tasks

Book Description

To perform audits and study auditors and the audit function demands a detailed understanding of audit components and their characteristics. The authors of this unique book--a blend of research findings, data analysis, and proprietary data base--provide just that: a comprehensive inventory of audit tasks and essential decision aids, all developed by highly experienced auditors. Describing how some parts of the audit are more structured than other parts this work demonstrates that more experience is generally required to perform less structured tasks. In addition, most audit tasks are not perceived as being suitable for decision aids. Of special value is the authors' comprehensive inventory of audit tasks, constructed on a coding of approximately 2,000 variables identified from their examination of 433 audit tasks. Among them are such variables as judgments of task structure, years of experience, supervised instances of practice, professional rank, and applicable decision aids. The authors' detailed description provides a collection of useful tables, giving simple descriptive statistics about task structure, knowledge base, and decision aids. The authors borrow their framework of analysis from the management science literature, creating an important study for professionals and academics in management, accounting and specialists in psychology and behavior sciences.

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Eye opening and grounded in research

excellent book

Solid research for the serious manager

Top down management is still "Getting Results"

Thoughtful and Practical

Getting Results: Five Absolutes for High Performance, 6 x 9
Clinton O. Longenecker , Jack L. Simonetti , and Clint Longenecker
Manufacturer: Jossey-Bass
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Measuring Performance in Public and Nonprofit Organizations (The Jossey-Bass Nonprofit and Public Management Series)

ASIN: 0787953881

Book Description

You have the vision. Now you have the means to achieve it. Written by two experts from the University of Michigan Business School, this book outlines a proven five-step process for achieving the organizational imperatives you want in a systematic fashion you can follow. The authors offer field-tested guidance on how to focus company-wide efforts on desired outcomes, create a positive working environment that encourages achievement, and practice continuous improvement to sustain and improve operating results. Based on extensive research that includes data gathered from more than 2,000 managers, the book includes a wealth of illustrative case studies, vignettes, and self-assessments that will help you see your way to success.

Customer Reviews:

Eye opening and grounded in research.......2005-08-11

In Getting Results, all logical arguments are backed by solid research studies. What is more impressive, in most cases the raw numbers are included, allowing the reader to analyze the data themselves. The author recognizes the need to substantiate all of his claims with measurable facts. The book also includes real world examples of how each of the 5 steps to getting results works in practice. This book is a solid foundation from which any manager should be able to develop a business strategy that will truly make their business get results! What is better, the book could easily be completed in a week; arming you with the tools you need to combat poor performance in a timely manor.

excellent book.......2004-10-14

Getting Results: Five Absolutes for High Performance is a must read for every manager. It is an excellent book and it gets every mamager ahead of the game. I got real understanding of performance monitoring amongst many other issues. Thanks

Solid research for the serious manager.......2002-06-06

Business is about getting results. And "Getting results" gets down to business in a very direct fashion, using research and the authors' work with senior executives to construct basic guidelines for enabling and empowering managers and organizations. The survey results on the top twenty things a leader needs to do to be effective is probably worth the cost of the book. Some of the ideas and data went straight into my classroom. This might even work for many business faculty as a text for a basic graduate course in management or leadership.

The book lacked a little bit of the 'Tom Peters verve' that wins over large numbers of readers and gets books recognized by business magazines. But serious, thoughtful students of the science (and art) of business will not be disappointed.

Top down management is still "Getting Results".......2002-04-11

This is a wonderful book. I would recommend it highly to anyone interested in reading how most of the successful companies are getting the job done. The survey and follow-up interviews from thousands of companies are well documented. It is easy to read and easy to ferret out solutions to specific problems that you may be experiencing in your business. What was striking to this reader was the general lack of the use of self-directed work teams in the businesses that were surveyed, and the continued reliance on the use of individual performance reviews and appraisals to motivate and direct employees. Successful businesses today are still following the basic rules of top down management that have been in place for many years. One must draw their own conclusion about whether this is the BEST way to do business. It certainly appears to be THE most popular and maybe the easy way to do business.

Thoughtful and Practical.......2002-01-05

This is one of the volumes which comprise the University of Michigan Business School Management Series. According to Longenecker and Simonetti, there are "five absolutes for high performance" and they examine each with both precision and eloquence. Few (if any) are original. The most effective managers probably practice them (and others) to achieve superior results. Whichever "absolutes" are embraced, they are obviously worthless without effective implementation in combination with both a determination and an ability to adjust to circumstances which can change quickly at any time. Here are the five absolutes:

#1 Get Everyone on the Same Page: Focus on the Purpose of Your Organization

#2 Prepare for Battle: Equip Your Operation with Tools, Talent, and Technology

#3 Stoke the Fire of Performance: Create a Climate for Results

#4 Build the Bridge on the Road to Results: Nurture Relationships with People

#5 Keep the Piano in Tune: Practice Continuous Renewal

No doubt each reader can easily rephrase each of the five or at least cluster several synonyms which suggest each absolute's key point. For example, #1 suggests the importance of agreement (or consensus) on which teamwork always depends whereas #5 suggests the importance of constant attention to the progress of any initiatives so that appropriate modifications can be made. The Japanese word "kaizen" means more than continuous renewal; those involved in such efforts must always be aware of maintaining proper balance (or proportion), especially when responding to a crisis of some kind.

For whom will this book be most valuable? The authors wrote it for "managers at all levels who are looking for ways to improve the performance not only of themselves but also of the people they are directly responsible for." I presume to suggest that this book would also be valuable to recent graduates who have only recently begun a business career. Every organization (including non-profits and family-owned businesses) needs to have an easily understood system (as well as sound strategies) by which to achieve the desired results. Longenecker and Simonetti provide such a system in this book. It remains for decision-makers, especially, "at all levels" to modify the system to their organization's specific needs and objectives. In the Afterword, Longenecker and Simonetti suggest how to "get the ball rolling" toward getting results: Always start with the end in mind, build a model of the absolutes to your organization to be effective as a leader, identify the practices that are most critical to your success, and develop the talents needed to implement and sustain the absolutes for high-performance. Heard all this before? Probably. Are you satisfied with the results you and your organization are now achieving? If not, here is a source to help clarify and assist your initiatives in weeks and months to come. Longenecker and Simonetti conclude their book and I conclude this review with an especially appropriate observation by Henry David Thoreau: "This time, like all time, is a great time, if we simply know what to do with it."

Book Description

Have you been appointed by a family member to be the personal representative or executor of their estate? Have you considered how you would like your own personal possessions to be distributed? This book was written to introduce and familiarize its readers with easy to understand estate closing techniques and probate procedures. It is the author's intent to educate any individual that is either faced with closing an estate, or anyone that may be considering how their own estate might be administered. After reading this book, you too may consider yourself a professional as you set out to close your estate with ease.

Book Description

This text provides a comprehensive and timely introduction to general relativity. The foundations of the theory in Part I are thoroughly developed together with the required mathematical background from differential geometry in Part III. The six chapters in Part II are devoted to tests of general relativity and to many of its applications. Binary pulsars are studied in considerable detail. Much space is devoted to the study of compact objects, especially to black holes. This includes a detailed derivation of the Kerr solution, Israel's proof of his uniqueness theorem, and derivations of the basic laws of black hole physics. The final chapter of this part contains Witten's proof of the positive energy theorem.

The book addresses undergraduate and graduate students in physics, astrophysics and mathematics. It is very well structured and should become a standard text for a modern treatment of gravitational physics. The clear presentation of differential geometry makes it also useful for string theory and other fields of physics, classical as well as quantum.

General Relativity is a complete revision and extension of Straumann's well-known classic textbook "General Relativity and Relativistic Astrophysics."

Special and General Relativity: With Applications to White Dwarfs, Neutron Stars and Black Holes (Astronomy and Astrophysics Library)

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Special and General Relativity: With Applications to White Dwarfs, Neutron Stars and Black Holes (Astronomy and Astrophysics Library)
Norman K. Glendenning
Manufacturer: Springer
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Compact Stars: Nuclear Physics, Particle Physics and General Relativity (Astronomy and Astrophysics Library)

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ASIN: 0387471065

Book Description

Special and General Relativity are concisely developed together with essential aspects of nuclear and particle physics. Problem sets are provided for many chapters, making the book ideal for a course on the physics of white dwarf and neutron star interiors.

Book Description

"Offers detailed coverage of applied polymer processing--presenting a wide range of technologies and furnishing state-of-the-art data on polymer components, properties, and processibility. Reviews fundamental rheological concepts. Contains over 1600 bibliographic citations, some 450 equations, and over 400 tables, drawings, and photographs."

Customer Reviews:

excellent!.......2000-06-23

excellent treatise from a great scientist on indian soil.

Colossal Magnetoresistance, Charge Ordering and Related Properties of Manganese Oxides

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Colossal Magnetoresistance, Charge Ordering and Related Properties of Manganese Oxides

Manufacturer: World Scientific Publishing Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 9812561277

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Great book!!!!!

Loves it.

The World Needs More People Like Richard Ulysses!

Awesome!!

I can relate...

I Didn't Fly Over. . .i Landed in It
Wally L. Edmond
Manufacturer: Writers Club Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0595762441

Book Description

Unfortunately, Life in the Rubber Room is never to become second nature for Richard Ulysses Lion. His true fortunate nature, however, is that of being overly cocky, mischievous, and fun loving at heart.

He weaves a wildly variable tale through the erratically woven pages of his personal journal. A journal that is chock-full of crazy adventures, and randomly filled with many unusual and off the wall incidents.

It is his Uncle Cletus who refers him to the State Mental Institution a.k.a. The Howard Hughes Hotel and who leaves him with these wordsÂ…
Â“ItÂ's a crazy world in there, Richard. Even though them folks in that place might know how to play crazy eights, believe me, none of them are playing with a full deck of cards.Â”

Richard not only plays his cards right as he confronts the many hardships that come along with institutional life, he will also come to know, respect, and have a genuine concern for the folks who are living there.

But as fate would have it Richard himself is dealt a bad hand through the onslaught of his many seizures to come. RichardÂ's biological time clock is slowly ticking away.

His story is not meant to be one of ridicule, belittlement, or making fun. RichardÂ's story is meant only to capture and release the humorous side of human nature itself.

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It is his Uncle Cletus who refers him to the State Mental Institution a.k.a. The Howard Hughes Hotel and who leaves him with these words

Customer Reviews:

Great book!!!!!.......2004-11-22

This is a great book for anyone who has ever worked with the mentally challenged or Knows someone who is mentally challenged. It shows the true hearts of the clients and the realities they experience in thier every day lives.This is one of those books that A person picks up to read,and doesn't put it down untill it is finished.Very emotional,yet very funny book.A book that truly warms your heart.

Loves it. .......2004-11-21

Highly recommend this well written hillarious tale of Richard, the "rubber room resident". This is a great read for anyone and would make an awesome gift this holiday season.

The World Needs More People Like Richard Ulysses!.......2004-08-02

Not long ago, during a time where the mentally ill and the mentally retarted were often housed together, Richard Ulysses is encouraged by an uncle to "become committed" to one of these institutions (as a health care professional?) As we read his entries to his journal, we witness the feelings he has toward his fellow "inmates" as he gradually makes them his family. Don't let the sophomoric (and sometimes stomach-turning) humor mislead you, this is a very touching story that will get you thinking about the institutions we all live in, and, like Richard, "Do I really think I'm any better than they are?"

Awesome!!.......2004-05-20

If you have ever worked in the human services field, you'll love what your reading. If you have ever worked direct care with mentally handicapped individuals, you'll love it even more!
I could relate every character in the book, to an individual with whom I have worked. Stellar Job Wally, KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK!

I can relate..........2003-02-16

I enjoyed this book, found it to be funny and entertaining. Very good reading won't put you to sleep so don't bother reading before going to bed.

Book Description

Widely acknowledged as the definitive history of the siege of Khe Sanh when first published in hardcover in 1991, this book tells the whole incredible story of one of the most pivotal and bloody battles of the Vietnam War. Historian John Prados and Khe Sanh survivor Ray Stubbe recount the brutal seventy-seven days of combat and present the larger political context that formed the all-important backdrop to the events on the battlefield in 1968.

From the first direct hit on the fifteen-hundred tons of ammunition stockpiled in the U.S. compound, through the day and night patrols, pounding mortar fire, and shifting battle lines, the words and deeds of the men of Khe Sanh are brought to life with a skillful combination of documentation and eyewitness accounts-from both sides of the conflict. Unique among books about the war, the comprehensiveness of this study will satisfy the most demanding specialist. Its sense of drama and action and its use of on-the-scene testimony will intrigue the general reader. 576 pages. 65 photographs. 16 line drawings. Paperback. 6 x 9 inches.

Customer Reviews:

Bait on the end of the hook.......1999-12-27

In Valley of Decision, The Siege of Khe Sanh, the authors chronicle the trials of both the Marines and the North Vietnamese who fought there. Both sides attempted to turn this remote outpost on the Laotian border into a decisive campaign that would ultimately determine the outcome of the war. Both sides failed in this attempt despite their best efforts.

After reading this book I find Khe Sanh to be the war in Vietnam in microcosm. The problems of differing perceptions held by Westmorland, Marine General Walt, the CIA, Special Forces, Marine Force Recon and the Bru tribesmen who occupied Khe Sanh illustrate the violations of the principles of war of objective and unity of command. Hovering above it all was the President of the United States exercising personal control of a battlefield from his office, 10,000 miles away.

In retrospect, Khe Sanh was a victory in a sense for the U.S. An isolated U.S. garrison that blew reville and raised a tattered American flag each day despite the inevitable mortar/artillery barrage it drew, told the Bru tribesmen and the North and South Vietnamese that he U.S. was still in control despite being outnumbered significantly. Almost unlimited American artillery and air support helped make the point.

Reading this book, one almost feels the fear, frustration, and misery the garrison endured there. Yet the reader senses the fierce pride that only combat soldiers doing a dirty, thankless job can feel. You can also imagine the rage felt when they were told simply that Khe Sanh was no longer important and to simply walk away.

Valley is essentially a foxhole level analysis of this campaign that shows how decisions emenating all the way from Washington and Saigon impacted the lives of the men on the ground. They were indeed the bait that lured thousands of North Vietnamese to their deaths. Like elsewhere in Vietnam, they were left with nothing to show for their heroic efforts.

The definitive volume on this subject to date........1998-01-20

As a Marine who was in the trenches at Khe Sahn, Mr. Prados and Ray Stubbe have done all of us an immeasurable service. Ray's recollection of places, people and events is phenomenal. As a "grunt" PFC then, I certainly lacked the macro-knowledge provided by Mr. Prados. They have succeeded in helping me,(and many others, I'm sure), construct a better picture of why we were there and what we did. There are a few defects, generally due to information not then available to the authors. However, until something better comes along, this book is, in my opinion, definitive.

OUTSTANDING REFERENCE BOOK OF THE SIEGE AT KHE SAND.......1997-11-24

VALLEY OF DECISION BY PRADOS

Book Description

This work explores the early diplomatic career of Robert Morier, the British Foreign Office's foremost expert on German affairs in the period leading up to German unification in 1871. As the subject of an intellectual biography, Morier provides valuable insights into the effects of German events and ideas upon the changing character of mid-Victorian liberalism. Morier is an important figure in understanding the dynamics of Anglo-German relations during this period, not only because of his unrivalled knowledge of German affairs, but also because of his broad connections to prominent liberal politicians and intellectuals in both countries. Through Morier's career, Murray examines the general currents of political, economic, and cultural change. Murray addresses four main components of liberal thought under debate during the mid-Victorian period: constitutionalism and self-government; the problem of nationalism; free trade and commercial treaties; and church-state relations in the aftermath of the first Vatican Council. Robert Morier was forced to confront each of these themes as they found concrete expression in German events, engaging leading liberal intellectuals and politicians in discussions over the future of both Germany and Britain. Thus, Germany became an important source of debate among British liberals regarding several fundamental aspects of their ideology, the most prominent being the proper role of the state in a modern liberal society.

Liberal Diplomacy and German Unification: the Early Career of Robert Morier.(Book Review) (book review): An article from: Canadian Journal of History

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Liberal Diplomacy and German Unification: the Early Career of Robert Morier.(Book Review) (book review): An article from: Canadian Journal of History
Gary Bruce
Manufacturer: University of Saskatchewan
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Canadian Journal of History, published by University of Saskatchewan on December 1, 2002. The length of the article is 758 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: Liberal Diplomacy and German Unification: the Early Career of Robert Morier.(Book Review) (book review)
Author: Gary Bruce
Publication: Canadian Journal of History (Refereed)
Date: December 1, 2002
Publisher: University of Saskatchewan
Volume: 37 Issue: 3 Page: 550(3)

Article Type: Book Review

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A recollection of suffering

Very good

a heroic work

I thought Indonesian literature had no hero

vintage Pram

The Mute's Soliloquy: A Memoir
Pramoedya Ananta Toer
Manufacturer: Penguin (Non-Classics)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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NO MAN'S LAND

Footsteps (Buru Quartet)

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This Earth of Mankind (Buru Quartet)

ASIN: 0140289046
Release Date: 2000-04-03

Book Description

From the author of the Buru Quartet and one of the greatest writers of our time comes a remarkable memoir of imprisonment and survival.

In 1965, Pramoedya Ananta Toer was detained by Indonesian authorities and eventually exiled to the penal island of Buru. Without a formal accusation or trial, the onetime national hero was imprisoned on Buru for eleven years. He survived under brutal conditions, somehow managing to produce his masterwork, the four novels of the Buru Quartet, as well as the remarkable journal entries, essays, and letters that comprise this moving memoir.

Reminiscent of the work of Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, The Mute's Soliloquy is a harrowing portrait of a penal colony and a heartbreaking remembrance of life before it. With a resonance far beyond its particular time and place, it is Pramoedya's crowning achievement--a passionate tribute to the freedom of the mind and a celebration of the human spirit.

"A haunting record of a great writer's attempt to keep his imagination and his humanity alive."-- The New York Times Book Review

"A story too vast and serious to ignore."-- San Francisco Chronicle (front page review)

Customer Reviews:

A recollection of suffering.......2007-01-13

"The Mute's Soliloquy" is one of those books worth reading on its title alone. It recalls PA Toer's turbulent arrest and imprisonment by the Indonesian gov't. It's captivating, and I wish I had read more of his fiction first, thus I'd have a better appreciation for the struggle his life has been. The memoir does mellow out toward the end, but it is a powerful document and a tribute to human persistence. How PAT was never awarded the Nobel Prize is just amazing, and a shame.

Very good.......2002-05-13

Author is very famous, sharp, straight-to-the-point and clear. He uses a very descriptive language and fascinating the world. This is truly a work of art of a genius. His experience enriching and nourishing for his reader.

a heroic work.......2001-10-15

I was so impressed after I read Pramoedya Ananta Toer's deft review of Eduard Douwes Dekkera's "Max Havelaar" in the NY Times, that I knew I had to find other works written by him. Fortunately, I found the "The Mute's Soliloquy" shortly thereafter.

This book is the about the heroism of a life, a writer who does not see himself as heroic, but whose survival as a writer keeps alive the stories of all those who did not necessarily return home from the penal colonies. The book also imports a historic contextualization that shifts the world view East: how did World War II, how did colonialism, how did history impact Indonesia? How does this relate to Indonesia's current internal conflicts? This book is both personal and global.

I thought Indonesian literature had no hero.......2000-08-25

As a gen-xer, I grew up in Indonesia not knowing anything about Pram. He was a figure who popped up in the newspapers once in a while for receiving this or that award or when each of his new publication was banned by the regime. Possessing his book was a crime punishable by law. As a teenager, I saw his book, "The House of Glass" (rumah kaca) in a Singapore library, I was really curious, and felt compelled to pick it up. However, I was brought up never to challenge the authority so I stared from afar, hesitating whether to pick it up or not. I decided against it.

Years from then I would see that picture of young me in "The Mute's Soliloquy." A boy timid from intimidation. A boy raised in fear, never realising that the only thing to fear should have been fear itself. Pram, in a free world, I would grow up just like you didn't want your children to grow up. Pram, in a country I loved, I was told not to love it because it has no love for me. You wrote about the plight of a Hoakiou like me and that landed you in jail. I thank you for that.

In Indonesia, hardly anybody feel the power of a book anymore. Not me, Pram, I was with there with you through your sufferings. I was there with you in your tiny little house in front of the swamp cabbage. I never knew how much I love the country until I picked up "This Earth of Mankind." It came a little too late in my life, but, still I want to thank you for it.

It is a little sad for me to only be able to express all my admiration and gratitude in a forum like this. I hope this reached you one day, in whatever form it might be. I want to let you know that they might have taken away a large chunk of your life, but they will never take away your spirit and ideals. They are alive and well with me and many other readers who feel the same way. God bless you, Pram.

vintage Pram.......2000-04-29

Some of Toer's finest writing, quite ably translated by Samuels. A wonderful introduction to the general reader of who Toer is and what moves him. But also a insightful and moving testament to the power of a free mind and the saving grace of art for those who are familiar with this writer's work. It was once said by Wittgenstein that Shakespeare was a great writer, but that one sensed that Goethe was also a great man. Toer is a great man who happens to be a true writer.

The Mute's Soliloquy: A Memoir.(Review): An article from: World Literature Today

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The Mute's Soliloquy: A Memoir.(Review): An article from: World Literature Today
Ronny Noor
Manufacturer: University of Oklahoma
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

Book Description

This digital document is an article from World Literature Today, published by University of Oklahoma on June 22, 2000. The length of the article is 597 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 Mute's Soliloquy: A Memoir.(Review)
Author: Ronny Noor
Publication: World Literature Today (Refereed)
Date: June 22, 2000
Publisher: University of Oklahoma
Volume: 74 Issue: 3 Page: 586

Article Type: Book Review

Distributed by Thomson Gale

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The Mute's soliloquy: A memoir

Manufacturer: Hasta Mitra in cooperation with The Lontar Foundation
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: 9798659104

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