Health Reform: Public Success, Private Failure

Book Description

Governments everywhere have a newfound interest in privatizing healthcare services. This collection explores the deep-rooted tensions between publicly-funded health care systems and the dynamics of public markets to deliver privately-financed health care. It explains the attraction and limitations of market-led health reform and the indispensable role of a vibrant public authority in the renewal of modern health care systems. International authorities in the field examine public-private conflicts in health policy including cost-containment, and privatization strategies in an international perspective, and the role of business and the private sector in setting the agenda for health care reform. The contributors focus on the restructuring of Anglo-Saxon health systems and the shift in state/market boundaries in Canada, the US, Britain and Australia.

Health Reform: Public Success, Private Failure

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Health Reform: Public Success, Private Failure
Daniel Drache
Manufacturer: Taylor & Francis, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000MBSYT6

Book Description

Credit management involves optimizing cash flow to ensure stability and provide maximum potential for growth. Many business fail because they do not have the cash flow to sustain their operations, regardless of how great the demand for their product or service. This book helps managers effectively manage their cash flow.

Amazon.com

Microsoft BizTalk Server 2000: Documented is the manual for Microsoft's solution to sharing business information with suppliers, customers, and other business partners. If you're familiar with Microsoft's tradition of publishing resource kits that include utility software and detailed documentation, you might think of this book as the BizTalk Server 2000 Resource Kit--there's no such product, as a matter of fact--without the supplementary collection of software. This book ships with a CD-ROM containing 120-day evaluation versions of BizTalk Server 2000 and Microsoft SQL Server 2000, so it's a good buy if you're interested in evaluating the suitability of BizTalk Server 2000 to your business by putting it through its paces in accordance with Microsoft's recommendations.

Regardless of whether you're evaluating or implementing for production, this book's 1500 pages contain extensive information on every aspect of the BizTalk environment. Documentation runs the gamut from step-by-step procedures (these use a new approach to the user interface, mostly shunning screen shots in favor of bold-type references to the dialog box names, check box labels, and the like) to succinct object model documentation for Visual Basic programmers. Almost every procedure and recommended practice is followed by a set of notes, which explain how to deal with unusual situations or problems. More extensive sample code would make the object model reference more meaningful, but installation and configuration instructions are unique and valuable. --David Wall

Topics covered: Microsoft BizTalk Server 2000 in its entirely, explained for those who will be installing the software, integrating it with Microsoft SQL Server 2000, and configuring it to share data--with proper security--with internal and external parties. For programmers, there's a complete reference to the BizTalk Messaging Services object model for Visual Basic as well as an appendix containing errors and their meanings.

Customer Reviews:

In-depth Info.......2002-03-28

As a Biztalk developer, this book helps me get through my project successfully. In-depth and packed with information. Tables are great for quick reference. It is an EXCELLENT REFERENCE for an experienced developer.... [For a beginner, 1500 pages might make you feel overwhelming. 'MCSE Training Kit: Microsoft® BizTalk Server 2000' is a better alternative. It is more precised and get you an overall concept faster.]

Documented at the maximum.......2001-06-08

The book is something I haven't expected. Comparing to "XML and SOAP Programming for BizTalk Servers" by Brian E. Travis this book covers almost every aspect of BizTalk develpoment, deployment and administration that the guys in Micsosoft has thougth of so far. It is mostly the printed version of the help, but changed and extended. You will find all the whitepapers in here also. Not very much of examples and step-by-step coverage, but... fair well written book, I'd say. The only thing I don't like is the size and weight of the book... should be in volumes.

Book Description

How to Start a Business in North Dakota is your roadmap to avoid planning, legal and financial pitfalls and direct you through the bureaucratic red tape that often entangles fledgling entrepreneurs. This all-in-one resource goes a step beyond other business how-to books to give you a jump-start on planning for your business and provides you with:

Quick reference to the most current mailing and Internet addresses and telephone numbers for federal, state, local and private agencies that will help get your business up and running.
State population statistics, income and consumption rates, major industry trends and overall business incentives to give you a better picture of doing business in North Dakota.
Checklists, sample forms and a complete sample business plan to assist you with numerous startup details.
State-specific information on issues like choosing a legal form, selecting a business name, obtaining licenses and permits, registering to pay for taxes and knowing your employer responsibilities.
Federal and state options for financing your new venture.

Customer Reviews:

A wonderful primer on starting a business with contact information for locating startup funds if necessary........2007-03-13

This is a valuable book (resource) for budding entrepreneurs. It seems to try to cover all the bases for starting a small business, but it can't do them all well in the space available between its covers. The book is only 288 pages long. If you are in the planning stages of starting a small business, then I highly recommend you get a copy of this book. Read it, study it, and outline it. There are helpful checklists to help you grasp the subjects. You will come up with a plethora of keywords and terms that you will want to google to find Web pages giving more detailed (and maybe more current) information.

I am a SCORE counselor (Senior Corps of Retired Executives) who typically does face-to-face counseling sessions three nights a month. It would really be neat if my clients would read this book BEFORE they came to their session with me because they would pretty much be "educated customers" ready to ask educated questions. Our sessions would be so much more beneficial.

My favorite chapters were:

1. Initial business concerns
2. Your business' structure
3. Business start-up details
5. Sources of business assistance (SCORE is mentioned here)
7. Your smart business plan (and a good sample plan is included)
8. Obtaining the financing you need

The book is weak when it comes to how the Internet can be used in corresponding, hiring, and marketing. But this is just one example of how googling keywords and concepts found in the book will make the book more complete. Don't treat the book as authoritative on the law. It isn't. Nor was it ever intended to be. It is light on tax information as it relates to small business.

I was particularly impressed with the material presented in Chapter 2: Choice of Legal Entity. That subject is sorely ignored in most small business books, and it is critically important. It is a subject I regularly must spend a great deal of time discussing at my SCORE sessions. This book does a pretty good job on the topic.

Chapters 4 and 9 through 12 are easy to find fault with. The topic of each could fill a book. But having these topics covered definitely will help a budding entrepreneur know some of the issues they raise.

I would have liked the book more if Chapter 6 (marketing) had been less superficial. When I read it I got the impression that the author was more a public relations expert than a marketing expert. I generally categorize public relations as a subset of marketing. Marketing includes advertising, public relations, and a whole host of other promotion techniques. I did not get this message when I read the book. I also would have liked the book better if the Internet, email, and Web sites had been discussed more. But there are many books on those subjects. Therefore, I can't complain too much about the limited discussion of computers.

When you read this book it may feel a little like it was produced on an assembly line. Maybe it was? There are 51 versions of this book sold; one for each state and the District of Columbia. Content is king, and this book has it. 5 stars!

Customer Reviews:

Immediately Useful, Educational & Fun.......2000-04-05

Simply Speaking is packed full of excellent information for the beginner and the seasoned speaker. I have used David's book in Public Presentations courses for a mix of people from union leaders to managers and recommend it whenever asked for books on Presentation Skills. It should be a required book for all people who need to speak in any part of their life in front of groups.

Simply Speaking, by David Greenberg, is great!.......1998-08-04

I have read and frequently use David Greengerg's "Simply Speaking - The No Sweat Way to Prepare and Deliver Presentations." As the former president of Buckhead Toastmasters and The Advanced Toastmasters of Atlanta, I can personally attest to the effectiveness of David's book for helping people of all skill levels, to quickly and easily improve their public speaking effectiveness.

The book is organized into simple-to-follow and easy-to-apply sections, without a lot of overhead and complicated material. In addition, the tips in the "bonus" section (compiled from some of the world's most successful speakers) are invaluable for any number of speaking situations.

I heartily recommend David's book. Every speaker, or speaker-to-be, should have a copy on his or her bookshelf!

Randy Sekeres

Book Description

Written by career guru Nella Barkley, this book turns the traditional job search on its head-by focusing on the individual, not the position-and gives people the tools they need to find work that's meaningful, well paying, and in tune with their needs. An interactive workbook, the Crystal-Barkley Guide takes a holistic approach to answering three key questions: Who am I? What do I want? How do I get there? Readers quickly become their own career counselors-experts, perhaps for the first time, on themselves. By learning which questions to ask, individuals learn how to accurately gauge their skills, identify talents, assess values. They learn how to put it all together, how to set goals and establish a direction. Then, once readers identify what they want, the authors show how the time-tested Crystal-Barkley methods can help them achieve it: How to visualize a career. How to survey a prospective workplace. How to negotiate. How to be a self-marketer. How to make job security permanent-because it comes from within.

Customer Reviews:

A hidden gem.......2005-11-13

Having reviewed a number of new career books lately, I've come to the conclusion that the life/work planning process created by John Crystal (who was a mentor of Richard Bolles) remains one of the best and most practical. Nella Barkley was Crystal's business partner before he died. She is a coach extraordinaire -- one who has been coaching long before it became popular. (As Barbara Ehrenreich's new book, Bait and Switch, points out, there are many dubious career coaches in the world, so be sure to ask friends and colleagues for recommendations. Interview several before you buy.) I highly recommend this book, and her other, How to Help Your Child Land the Right Job, as well as the week-long Crystal Barkley course which is offered in cities around the U.S.: www.careerlife.com.

Extremely Useful.......2003-07-31

I bought this book to help myself answer the question "am I in the right job?" The Crystal-Barkely methodology was time-consuming, yet easy to follow and helped me learn new things about myself. I used the results to realign myself within my company and focus on areas that play to my strengths.

THE guide to 'how to change' your life and work.......1999-04-22

This is a simple, practical, realistic approach to examining your experiences, determining your values and defining how to move forward with a life and work change. Many books discuss it, this one tells you how to do it. Don't be deceived by it's size: this is chock full of advice.

Refreshing creative comprehensive practical step by step pln.......1997-03-01

Seeing yourself differently in very specific ways, and valuing that uniquiness seems to be the first practical step toward ultimately differentiating if not distinquishing yourself. Exploring and eventually commiting to what you care about personally as well as potentially professionally, confidently communicating how you will use your most preferred skills to best meet those needs of your selected "partners" is empowering and energizing. Important points are humorously supported by cartoonist Sam Gross.

Book Description

A companion workbook based on Passing It On: The Inheritance and Use of Summer Houses, How to Pass It On presents two "composite" families struggling with the issues analyzed in greater detail in that study, along with exercises and questions to be answered by those trying to resolve their difficulties in collective ownership of a summer house.

Book Description

MCI takes the reader into the boardroom for a look at the financial management and marketing issues the company faced.

Customer Reviews:

One of the most memorable case studies I've ever found..........2002-01-21

Over the past year I have been involved in the startup of a competitive telecommunications provider owned by AT&T. I frequently cited this book and the experiences of MCI in discussions with others in my company when dealing with difficult issues.

This book is one of the more memorable case studies I've ever found. The pages flew by, though the sayings within remained indelibly marked in my mind.

Yes, the book is written by MCI insiders proud of what they accomplished. They should be. I only wish more companies would share their experiences with the world in this manner and with the simple but memorable words used here. I could use a few more of these case studies.

Fluffy PR.......1999-12-28

Read more like a press release or company-paid pr fluff than a detached history of the company. The corporate-speak hyperbole was enough to make one nauseous.

Average customer rating:

Great Overview

Great book!!

What's old will be new again

A remarkable accomplishment

Highly Recommended!

Paying with Plastic, 2nd Edition: The Digital Revolution in Buying and Borrowing
David S. Evans , and Richard Schmalensee
Manufacturer: The MIT Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Popular Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
Banks & Banking | Industries & Professions | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
General | E-commerce | Industries & Professions | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
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Charging Ahead: The Growth and Regulation of Payment Card Markets around the World

Credit Card Nation: The Consequences of America's Addiction to Credit

The PayPal Wars: Battles With Ebay, the Media, the Mafia, And the Rest of Planet Earth

Developing And Managing a Successful Payment Cards Business

Managing a Consumer Lending Business

ASIN: 026255058X

Amazon.com

For better or worse, most of us have at least one of the 720 million little plastic cards that are used each year to complete $860 billion worth of purchases at 15 million incredibly varied merchant locations throughout the world. This is a far cry from the humble beginnings of these myriad credit, debit, and charge cards, which just a few decades ago were generally a perk offered only to elite customers for the acquisition of fine meals, hotel rooms, department-store goods, and oil-company products. They are now so common and such an integral part of our economy, in fact, that few pay them much mind--a situation that makes David Evans and Richard Schmalensee's Paying with Plastic all the more interesting. Evans, senior vice president of National Economics Research Associates, and Schmalensee, dean of MIT's Sloan School of Management, meticulously trace the history of these cards from both the consumer and merchant perspectives in this surprisingly appealing volume, which will prove enlightening to anyone who ever wondered how plastic money works. --Howard Rothman

Book Description

The payment card business has evolved from its inception in the 1950s as a way to handle payment for expense-account lunches (the Diners Club card) into today's complex, sprawling industry that drives trillions of dollars in transaction volume each year. Paying with Plastic is the definitive source on an industry that has revolutionized the way we borrow and spend. More than a history book, Paying with Plastic delivers an entertaining discussion of the impact of an industry that epitomizes the notion of two-sided markets: those in which two or more customer groups receive value only if all sides are actively engaged. New to this second edition, the two-sided market discussion provides useful insight into the implications of these market dynamics for cardholder rewards, merchant interchange fees, and card acceptance. The authors, both of whom have researched the industry for more than 25 years, also examine the implications of the recent antitrust cases on the industry as well as other business and technological changes -- including the massive consolidation brought about by bank mergers, the rise of the debit card, and the emergence of e-commerce -- that could alter the payment card industry dramatically in the years to come.

Customer Reviews:

Great Overview.......2006-11-05

If you work in the payments, credit card or finance industry this book is great. It has a very easy to read history about credit cards, who knew Diners Club invented the category in the 50's. But more importantly is how the industry is moving forward and progressing.

Overall, this is a book you read if you need to, but I can't imagine anyone outside the industry reading it. You would have to be the most intellecually curious person in the world if you read this cause you were interested in how credit cards work.

Great book!!.......2006-01-04

I loved this book and how the author talks about the fine points of credit cards and how American consumers got hooked into it. A terrific read and it is money well spent, although FREE shipping would have been nice!

What's old will be new again.......2005-10-24

Paying with Plastic first edition has been revamped, rewritten and repositioned here with edition number two.

Most important, Paying with Plastic "2.0" addresses new developments of online payment processing. The authors correctly begin to question the requirement of a merchant set top box for reading "antiquated magnetic stripes".

"Old is new" item #1. Frank McNamara's Diners Club platform would cost about $50,000 to set up today. What's the next mutiny of merchants?

Old is new item #2. Sears starting up Discover and getting to more merchants tha American Express -all within 2 years. Moore's law (doubling within time) would suggest the next Discover would ramp up in less time.

Old is new #3. Industries in decline, lobby best. The payment industry's recently raised interchange rates. Does technology cost more?! No, but growth is stagnant.

Old is new #4. Whoops, John Reed (ex-ceo of Citibank) pulled their Visa membership (p14) and moved the Mastercard logo to the back. Why?! Pull the entire Citi into a closed loop - Citi wanted to be like Amex and Discover. There will be more banks doing this like Chase (Octogon) or MBNA (PayPass).

Old is new #5. Wal-mart as a bank. See Sears above in #2. Wal-marts pays fees to V/MC/D/Amex but they'd rather charge fees and lend money. Why just make $2.00 on the VCR when you can make $10 on the financing. By the way, I like the payment system name, "Wallycard"... just kidding.

A remarkable accomplishment.......2005-07-11

It is a very difficult and ambitious task to write a book about an industry combining indispensable facts and history, fundamental business aspects and subtle economic insights. Yet this is precisely what the authors have done for credit cards, the digital quantum leap in the evolution of payment instruments. It is a very rewarding and fun read, providing the equivalent of a comprehensive 3D animated view of the organization of credit card companies (not-for-profit associations like Visa or for-profit firms like American Express) and of the complex ecosystem that surrounds them: banks, merchants, cardholders, regulators, ATM networks, etc.
And the "lens" of "multi-sided platforms" that Evans and Schmalensee use to conduct their analysis turns out to be so appealing and insightful that one wonders how economists, policy-makers, business people and even casual observers managed to make any sense of this industry before.

Highly Recommended!.......2005-05-09

In this history of payment cards, David S. Evans and Richard Schmalensee provide an amazingly lucid account of a couple of unusual business models: the "two-sided platform," which in the use of payment cards means walking a tightrope between the interests of merchants and consumers; and the "co-opetitive," in which the bank members of MasterCard and Visa cooperate in developing industry practices while competing for business. The authors, who are both former Visa consultants, sound like your favorite college professors - up to date and extremely sophisticated, yet friendly and anecdotal (at one point, they describe a Shell gas station near MIT to make a point about competition among cards). They typically begin chapters with easily understood notions from which they methodically build complex structures of ideas and information. Another virtue of the book is its concreteness - although that occasionally devolves into repetitiveness - starting with an explanation involving electronic signals and following the paper path of what happens when you hand your credit, debit or charge card to a cashier. The authors even consider the design and manufacture of the cards themselves. We recommend this book as essential reading for those in the banking or payment card industries; and it's not a bad idea for card users to read it - which these days means you...and just about everyone else.

Debt for Sale: A History of the Credit Trap.(Paying with Plastic: The Digital Revolution in Buying and Borrowing, 2d ed. )(Book Review): An article from: Journal of Economic Issues

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Debt for Sale: A History of the Credit Trap.(Paying with Plastic: The Digital Revolution in Buying and Borrowing, 2d ed. )(Book Review): An article from: Journal of Economic Issues
Robert III Scott
Manufacturer: Thomson Gale
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital
ASIN: B000E3BJDA
Release Date: 2006-01-02

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Journal of Economic Issues, published by Thomson Gale on December 1, 2005. The length of the article is 1373 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: Debt for Sale: A History of the Credit Trap.(Paying with Plastic: The Digital Revolution in Buying and Borrowing, 2d ed. )(Book Review)
Author: Robert III Scott
Publication: Journal of Economic Issues (Magazine/Journal)
Date: December 1, 2005
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 39 Issue: 4 Page: 1077(4)

Article Type: Book Review

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Houses of cards.(Paying with Plastic: The Digital Revolution in Buying and Borrowing, Second Edition )(Book Review) : An article from: Regulation

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Houses of cards.(Paying with Plastic: The Digital Revolution in Buying and Borrowing, Second Edition )(Book Review) : An article from: Regulation
Timothy J. Brennan
Manufacturer: Thomson Gale
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Regulation, published by Thomson Gale on September 22, 2005. The length of the article is 2268 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: Houses of cards.(Paying with Plastic: The Digital Revolution in Buying and Borrowing, Second Edition )(Book Review)
Author: Timothy J. Brennan
Publication: Regulation (Magazine/Journal)
Date: September 22, 2005
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 28 Issue: 3 Page: 56(3)

Article Type: Book Review

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Paying with Plastic: The Digital Revolution in Buying and Borrowing

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Paying with Plastic: The Digital Revolution in Buying and Borrowing
David; Schmalensee, Richard L. Evans
Manufacturer: The MIT Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OQG9X2

Paying with Plastic: The Digital Revolution in Buying and Borrowing (Second Edition)

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Paying with Plastic: The Digital Revolution in Buying and Borrowing (Second Edition)
Richard Schmalensee David S. Evans
Manufacturer: The MIT Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OQGRHU

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Paying With Plastic: The Digital Revolution in Buying and Borrowing.
David S. and Richard Schmalensee. Evans
Manufacturer: Mit Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OQCOX6

Book Description

This yearbook contains basic information on export-import, investment and business opportunities in the respected country. Provides information on government structure, economy, business climate, regulations, and more... Includes basic statistics, information on the most important business contacts and business travel. Updated annually.

Canada Business and Investment Opportunities Yearbook

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Canada Business and Investment Opportunities Yearbook
USA International Business Publications
Manufacturer: International Business Publications, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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

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General | Canada | Travel | Subjects | Books

Canada Investment & Business Opportunities Yearbook (World Investment & Business Opportunities Library)

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Canada Investment & Business Opportunities Yearbook (World Investment & Business Opportunities Library)
USA International Business Publications
Manufacturer: International Business Publications, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 0739712306

Book Description

This yearbook contains information on investment business opportunities, international economic projects, tenders, government projects, marketing and export-import opportunities information.

Canada Oil & Gas Industry Business and Investment Opportunities Yearbook (World Strategic and Business Information Library)

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Canada Oil & Gas Industry Business and Investment Opportunities Yearbook (World Strategic and Business Information Library)

Manufacturer: Intl Business Pubns USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Shopping & Commerce | Reference | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
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Canada Business and Investment Opportunities Yearbook
Ibp USA
Manufacturer: NY
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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