Assumption-Based Planning: A Tool for Reducing Avoidable Surprises (RAND Studies in Policy Analysis)

Book Description

Unwelcome surprises in the life of any organization can often be traced to the failure of an assumption that the organization's leadership didn't anticipate or had "forgotten". Assumption-based planning (ABP) is a tool for identifying as many as possible assumptions underlying the plans of an organization and bringing them explicitly into the planning process. This book presents a variety of techniques for rooting out those vulnerable, crucial assumptions. It also presents steps for monitoring the vulnerable assumptions of a plan by taking actions to control them where possible and preparing for potential failure where control is not possible.

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Unwelcome surprises in the life of any organization can often be traced to the failure of an assumption that the organization's leadership didn't anticipate or had 'forgotten' it was making. Assumption-based planning (ABP) is a tool for identifying as many as possible of the assumptions underlying the plans of an organization and bringing those assumptions explicitly into the planning process. This book presents a variety of techniques for rooting out those vulnerable, crucial assumptions. The book also presents steps for monitoring all the vulnerable assumptions of a plan, for taking actions to control those vulnerable assumptions where possible, and for preparing the organization for the potential failure of those assumptions where control is not possible. The book provides a variety of examples and practical advice for those interested in carrying out an application of ABP in the fields of business, management, strategic planning, engineering, and in military applications.

Improving planning in the real world.(Assumption-Based Planning: A Tool for Reducing Avoidable Surprises)(Book Review): An article from: The Futurist

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Improving planning in the real world.(Assumption-Based Planning: A Tool for Reducing Avoidable Surprises)(Book Review): An article from: The Futurist
Kenneth W. Harris
Manufacturer: World Future Society
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

Tanita BC533 Glass Innerscan Body Composition Monitor

ASIN: B0008DVJR2
Release Date: 2005-07-31

Book Description

This digital document is an article from The Futurist, published by World Future Society on September 1, 2003. The length of the article is 836 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: Improving planning in the real world.(Assumption-Based Planning: A Tool for Reducing Avoidable Surprises)(Book Review)
Author: Kenneth W. Harris
Publication: The Futurist (Magazine/Journal)
Date: September 1, 2003
Publisher: World Future Society
Volume: 37 Issue: 5 Page: 64(2)

Article Type: Book Review

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Book Description

This book offers an innovative approach to overcome the crisis of management in the face of complexity. The systems approach to management will help to develop the new kind of intelligent organizations so urgently needed. This approach is a powerful tool, grounded in organizational cybernetics and systems dynamics. The approach will allow managers and advanced students of management cope with organizational complexity in an effective way. The book is a source for improvement of any kind of organizations, private or public, non-profit, large or small. The systems approach, on which this book is grounded, makes this book different from many conventional books on organizations.

Customer Reviews:

Important concepts for up-to-date management.......2007-04-11

This book is a very important book. Besides its solid theoretical foundations it is a very practical book. It will help managers to better understand their role in the complex world where companies and organizations in general have to operate. The role of managers in organizations is basically to design their organizations and to steer them so they are able to cope steadily with the complexity they have to face, in the outside environment as well as inside, in order to achieve their purposes. This means helping their organizations to be more "intelligent".

To show how to do this the author establishes an integrative Framework for the Design and Development of Intelligent Organizations containing five core components which are interrelated: Activities, Structure, Behavior, Basic Parameters (Identity, Ethos and Vision) and Time. Each of them is described in great detail and the implications of its adequate inclusion and design is thoroughly treated.

Three very important theories (The Model of Systemic Control-MSC), The Viable System Model-VSM and the Team Syntegrity model-TSM) are described and coherently incorporated into the framework.

Another very relevant aspect of this book is the great attention dedicated to the implications that three clearly identified necessary types of management (Operative, Strategic and particularly Normative) have on the companies and organizations' long term viability.

In summary I think that this book is a must for managers interested in knowing the very advanced concepts and tools which are today available and ready-to-use for helping them to steer their companies through the actual (and quite probably future) turbulent environments in which they operate.

For both academics and practitioners.......2006-08-21

It is hard to find in management literature books with the right mixture of theoretical rigor, empirical support, and practical advice. This book is one of such a kind. The book presents a novel integrative framework for management, using three well known academic models: The Model of Systemic Control - developed by the author -, the Viable System Model and the Team Sintegrity model. This schema allows to address the whole picture of several organizational issues that usually are treated separately: structure, behavior, functions, human/social conditions and time. What is known as the Systems Approach. As the author says in the first lines: "This is not a book about how to run a company. It is about how to look at the world differently". It is full with real-life examples and occasional exploration of other areas such as computer simulation and complexity theory which underpin the ideas in the book. And besides, the author's style guarantees a very pleasing reading.

Book Description

Recent developments with the use of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) in Australia have shown how identification of beneficial insects in potato crops can reduce the use of insecticide sprays. This comprehensive, current, and convenient reference guide to Australian potato pests provides potato growers with the ability to know which diseases and insects are present (or absent) in their crops to help them decide whether or not to use insecticide.

Successful Business Planning in 30 Days: A Step-By-Step Guide for Writing a Business Plan and Starting Your Own Business, Third Edition
Average customer rating:

Work of Art

One day at a time ...

useless

Good Book for those just starting out

Good overall book, but not enough examples.

Successful Business Planning in 30 Days: A Step-By-Step Guide for Writing a Business Plan and Starting Your Own Business, Third Edition
Peter J. Patsula
Manufacturer: Patsula Media
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Entrepreneurship | Small Business & Entrepreneurship | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
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Business Plans | Small Business & Entrepreneurship | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
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The Complete Book of Business Plans: Simple Steps to Writing a Powerful Business Plan (Small Business Sourcebooks)

ASIN: 0967840236

Book Description

Now in a newly updated and expanded 3rd edition, Successful Business Planning in 30 Days is a concise, reader-friendly guide that contains all the information needed to craft a comprehensive business plan for any type of entrepreneurial activity within a 30-day time frame. It provides step-by-step procedures as well as hundreds of company startup and operating strategies. There is even a section showing readers how to create a mini- "one day business plan" in a single afternoon to give any current ideas they have a needed focus when time is of essence. Successful Business Planning in 30 Days is currently used in colleges and universities in America and abroad.

Revised with international readers in mind, this 3rd edition also offers more than 200 educational and motivational quotations as well as 33 profit tips and 11 entrepreneurial success stories from around the globe.

Enhanced with more than 100 time-saving checklists and worksheets, a sample business plan, and over 150 newly added sample paragraphs to help readers with the language of business, this guide is a key ingredient for anyone interested in planning a business.

Customer Reviews:

Work of Art.......2003-12-11

I enjoy reading books based upon Business like themes, and I must say that this is one that has completely stood out from the rest that I have read. I recently started my own business after 20 years of experience, and I must say that this book covers not only all the basic methods to start a business, but also to make it shine amongst the rest. It is practical and brilliant at the same time, and very easy to follow for anyone who has the motivation to start their own business. Pave your way to success and climb to the top, using this book as an essential tool.

One day at a time ..........2003-11-28

A friend recommended this book to me. I was skeptical at first skimming through it, because there's so much information, but with a little patience, I began to see the big picture. It's well organized. Once I worked through a couple of days of worksheets (the worksheets are nicely organized day by day at the end of each section), I began thinking more and more like a business woman. I'm now going through my day thinking about logos and mission statements, target markets etc., and it doesn't come easy, because good ideas never do, but it's exciting. I'm starting to see my business ... my own ideas. There's a good range of examples to help you get your wordings right. Generally, I don't like books that tell readers how easy it is to start a business, providing inspiration without substance, because businesses just aren't that simple. Otherwise, we would all quit our jobs tomorrow. And I don't like textbooks. This book has a nice balance. Some problems though are that it has a lot more information than I can digest in one sitting. So I'm working through it one day at a time, as much as I can. I'm on Day 23. Another complaint I have, I guess, not about the book though, is that starting a business involves a lot more planning than I thought it would. I wish it had more sample business plans, though it has a fairly good one about an online health business, and some of the forms could also have a little more space for writing ideas, some more thinking room. I also came across some typos. But these are minor complaints. Overall, well organized and well worth the money.

useless.......2003-11-10

If you are proficient with coorporate double-speak this book should be fantastic. I just found it irritating. The workbook format is a good idea, but the author doesn't give good definitions of what he is asking for. After reading the first seven pages I'm completely confused about the differences of a "Mission Statement", a "Business Vision" and "Company Goals". The definitions sound almost identical but the author insists that they are not the same.
I can write complex computer programs, but using this book, I cannot write a business plan!

Good Book for those just starting out.......2003-04-10

I bought this book for my son, he found the book very informative and helpful good for anyone who is just starting out

Good overall book, but not enough examples........2002-07-26

This book has helped me a great deal in thinking about my business, but I wish it included more examples of current BPs. That would have been very helpful.

Book Description

Left Handed Through Time reintroduces you to ideas, things, times, and places you have known. It may also take you where you never thought to go and it makes it real. An unpretentious poetic look at life, love, and adventure.

Average customer rating:

Escaping the American Job Trap
Ruby L., Ph.D. Ward , and PhD. Dr. Ruby L. Ward
Manufacturer: Xlibris Corporation
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0738817252

Book Description

This book illuminates ideas for new ventures in the changing job market. The author urges the readers to rethink the commonly accepted conventions of wage-earning and boldly embrace the new entrepreneurial opportunities opening up in the new technological age. She offers exciting ideas for finding a career that puts your money in circulation to work for you, instead of you working for your money. Never before has the concept of business networking been more practical as the Internet puts the marketplace in your home and at your fingertips. “Escaping the American Job Trap” offers a practical plan and proven strategies for establishing a home-based direct marketing business that will free you from the constraints, insecurities and limitations of a traditional job. By creating network communities, it has been a proven way to obtain financial freedom - the trend of the 21st century. This book is well-researched, informational and communicated in a friendly, accessible voice. The author has written another book that offers creative financial opportunities for Christians, “Breaking the Financial Curse of Poverty Over Your Life. - Entrepreneurship: A Divine Calling From God.”

Escaping the American Job Trap: Creating Network Communities to Obtain Financial Freedom

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Escaping the American Job Trap: Creating Network Communities to Obtain Financial Freedom
Ruby L., Ph.D. Ward
Manufacturer: Xlibris Corporation
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0738836958

Omnibus bankruptcy reform legislation : report together with additional views (to accompany S. 1985) (SuDoc Y 1.1/5:102-279)
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Omnibus bankruptcy reform legislation : report together with additional views (to accompany S. 1985) (SuDoc Y 1.1/5:102-279)
U.S. Congressional Budget Office
Manufacturer: U.S. G.P.O.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

Bankruptcy | Business | Law | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B00010A1GM

Book Description

Each volume comes packed with 19 half-hour interactive training sessions guaranteed to interest your reps and improve their skills. Whether you choose Volume 1, Volume 2 or both, SkillSharpener: Training for the Frontline will help you train and motivate your frontline reps. And all for as little as $1.65 per training session. It’s an unbeatable value. And, best of all, you don't have to be a trainer to use these sessions because each session includes: Sample scripts with introductions that help you build interest. Professional trainer tips that help you run each session like a pro. Training tools like role-play exercises, masters for handouts, quizzes, checklists, group exercises and more. Each workbook starts with a training guide so that you can plan your training for an entire year. Then, you’ll find sessions on the key topics you need.

Book Description

A team of experts on the European economy focuses on the three major issues of fiscal policy, monetary policy and labor markets in this collection. They provide a survey of recent research on each topic as well as related state-of-the-art contributions. The early years of European Monetary Union have not been easy for the European economy. Economists are divided in their assessment of the effectiveness of key institutions, such as the European Central Bank, and their ability to provide macroeconomic stability and foster the reforms necessary to stimulate economic growth.

Monetary Policy, Fiscal Policies, and Labour Markets: Macroeconomic Policymaking in the EMU.(Book Review) : An article from: Comparative Economic Studies

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Monetary Policy, Fiscal Policies, and Labour Markets: Macroeconomic Policymaking in the EMU.(Book Review) : An article from: Comparative Economic Studies
David VanHoose
Manufacturer: Thomson Gale
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital
ASIN: B000BJAZMI
Release Date: 2005-09-22

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Comparative Economic Studies, published by Thomson Gale on September 1, 2005. The length of the article is 1034 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: Monetary Policy, Fiscal Policies, and Labour Markets: Macroeconomic Policymaking in the EMU.(Book Review)
Author: David VanHoose
Publication: Comparative Economic Studies (Magazine/Journal)
Date: September 1, 2005
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 47 Issue: 3 Page: 586(3)

Article Type: Book Review

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Customer Reviews:

So Basic It's Useless.......2007-07-06

No matter how little this book costs -new or used - save your money. So very basic, you could learn more by going to a Mexican Restaurant.

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