New Directions: Efficiency and Productivity (Studies in Productivity and Efficiency)

Book Description

The key unifying conceptual tool of this important entry in the study of efficiency and productivity is the directional distance function. In New Directions the authors take up this new performance measure while also maintaining their "traditional" axiomatic production theoretic approach.

The directional distance function includes traditional distance functions and efficiency measures as special cases providing a unifying framework for existing productivity and efficiency measures. As a generalisation of the traditional distance functions, it turns out to be a dual to the profit function, opening a range of new tools for empirical and theoretical research. It also provides enough additional flexibility to open up new areas in productivity and efficiency analysis such as environmental and aggregation issues.

Book Description

This masterful book investigates and analyzes several aspects of money among the Yoruba of Nigeria. Falola and Adebayo explore the origin, philosophy, uses, politics, and problems of acquiring and spending money in Yoruba culture. No prior book exists on this aspect of a major ethnic group in Africa with established connections with the black Diaspora in North America and the Caribbean.

Conceived so that each chapter may be read individually, the volume is divided into three parts. Part 1, "Money and Its Uses," focuses on the transition from barter to cowry currency, the idealistic and pragmatic views of money, the impact of monetization on social stratification, accumulation among members of the elite, and the development of savings, banking, and credit institutions. Part 2, "Money and Its Problems," investigates the social, political, and cultural problems of money, including money-lending, theft, counterfeiting, and corruption. Part 3, "Money and Oil Economy," assesses the impact of the oil industry on the Nigerian state and examines both the positive and negative effects of oil money on Yoruba economy, society, and spending. Concluding chapters detail efforts to arrest the crisis that followed the economic slump after the oil boom and led to the adoption of the Structural Adjustment Program, and also evaluate the effects of currency devaluation on personal and communal responsibilities and social payment.

Culture, Politics, and Money Among the Yoruba is timely in view of ongoing political and economic changes in Africa. It will be of interest to economists, sociologists, and African studies specialists.

Book Description

Microsoft Commerce Server 2000 lets businesses create sophisticated, customized B2B or B2C e-commerce solutions in record time. This book, prepared by staff at NIIT, a leading technology training company, shows network administrators and developers how to put Commerce Server to work, from configuring business analytics to Web site testing and BizTalk Server integration. Two CD-ROMs offer a Commerce Server trial plus sample code, lab exercises, and more.

Customer Reviews:

My Review.......2002-07-21

I was pretty satisfied by the contents of this book. This book is a comprehensive guide for network administrators to implement Commerce Server 2000 and administer and secure it effectively. The configuration examples are comprehensive and I could configure Commerce Server 2000 with ease after reading the contents of this book. The authors seem to have a thorough hands-on experience with Commerce Server 2000. I liked the chapters on deployment, security and integration of Commerce Server with BizTalk server. This is indeed a great buy!!

Microsoft Application Center 2000 Configuration and Administration

Average customer rating:

Awesome
Much better than the manual
Application Center 2000 Must Have!

Microsoft Application Center 2000 Configuration and Administration
Don Jones
Manufacturer: Hungry Minds
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Design & Architecture | Hardware | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

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Similar Items:

Microsoft Application Center Resource Kit

ASIN: 0764549022

Book Description

Learn how to administer and configure Application Center 2000, Microsoft's highly rated Deployment and Management tool. Used for high-availability Web applications, this clustering, load-balancing product makes managing groups of servers as easy as managing one computer! Topics covered include: deploying server load balancing, component load balancing, content deployment, and monitoring; installing Application Center; configuring network load balancing and content deployment; administration tools; administrating a cluster; deploying and securing a cluster; and performance tuning and optimization.

Customer Reviews:

Awesome.......2003-06-13

Clear, easy examples, plenty of walk-throughs. There are a few errors, but the book also points out errors on other sources. The author was very responsive through e-mail and directed me to some updates that cleared up the errors. I'm very happy with this book.

Much better than the manual.......2003-05-31

If you use Application Center buy this book. Far better than what passes for a manual from Microsoft and even better than the Microsoft class.

Application Center 2000 Must Have!.......2002-03-02

When I was told by management to learn Application Center 2000 in a hurry for an upcoming project, my first step was to look for a book on the subject. Application Center 2000 is very new and Microsoft has little documentation to support it. Worse yet, the Resouce Kit is filled with errors. The first book I purchased was very technical and hard to understand. I then purchased Microsoft Application Center 2000 Configuration and Administration by Don Jones. It was different. The book is written in a style that I have found very helpful as I try to learn and deploy this new product. We will be putting Application Center 2000 in production by the end of March and this book made it happen. Thanks!

Book Description

This digital document is an article from San Fernando Valley Business Journal, published by CBJ, L.P. on August 4, 2003. The length of the article is 489 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: Know how much space you need.(Advertising Supplement)
Author: Mike Elford
Publication: San Fernando Valley Business Journal (Magazine/Journal)
Date: August 4, 2003
Publisher: CBJ, L.P.
Volume: 8 Issue: 16 Page: 13(1)

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Customer Reviews:

A Helpful Guide to Anyone.......2004-09-03

After a 2002 downsizing from the original long distance phone company, I still do not have permanent employment or benefits.

I recently picked up Kathy's book again after 2 years. It is just as helpful to me today as it was then.

She has comforted me as though I met with her in person. She identifies with my feelings and circumstance - there is no "put on".

Kathy's ability to write from her heart and experiences are useful in my journey for "life work".

Enjoy it, I do. I can read it again and again now, remembering that someone knows exactly what it's like to be unemployed and over the age limit.(smile)

do yourself a favor & buy this book!.......2001-08-01

Whether you're trying to cope with unemployment or attempting to find your way into a new career Try! has a pleasing & upbeat direction for you to take.

Now that you have all that "free" time what are you going to do with it? Do you want to learn how to budget that time, how to mine your talents & what about money? Would you like to learn how to put a work search day together? How to handle the emotions? How to begin to find the treasure in yourself? What the definitions of work that most fit your uniqueness?

Try! is a good little book - do yourself a favor - spend the [money] - it's worth every dime! Keep it, read it & be prepared for when that pink slip flutters your way. If you already have been handed yours & are now wallowing around in the doldrums - take heart, buy a copy & set to work on the exercises & processes described therein. Your workless time will not be in vain.

HELPED ME COPE..........1999-01-07

This book was a wonderful guide for me in putting my life back on track when I felt hopelessly lost when my company downsized. It is motivational, easy enjoyable reading, and will expose opportunity in a different light. Worth it's weight in GOLD.

Excellent resource for the unemployed and unhappy at work!!!.......1998-09-30

Book is very uplifting, and positive... thought provoking... a virtual guide to finding what works for you, and organizing the search for finding your true lifes work... not just your next job.

Inspirational - A must read!.......1996-09-11

Try! is a must read, not only for the unemployed but for the unhappily employed. Ms Okulicz gives the reader the tools along with the inspiration necessary to find his/her true lifes work

Average customer rating:

When Less Really Is More

Not for your average Joe/Josephine

excellent book, shows that you still can have a decent life

A must for breaking away from consumer culture

good book but too yuppy for a poor artist like me

Getting a Life: Real Lives Transformed by Your Money or Your Life
Jacquelyn Blix , and David Heitmiller
Manufacturer: Viking Adult
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Public Finance | Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
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Similar Items:

Your Money or Your Life: Transforming Your Relationship with Money and Achieving Financial Independence

Voluntary Simplicity, Revised Edition: Toward a Way of Life That Is Outwardly Simple, Inwardly Rich

The Simple Living Guide

Transforming Your Relationship With Money: The Nine-Step Program for Achieving Financial Integrity, Intelligence, and Independence

Getting a Life: Strategies for Simple Living Based on the Revolutionary Program for Financial Freedom, "Your Money or Your Life"

ASIN: 0670870498

Amazon.com

Jacqueline Blix and David Heitmiller are a married couple who grew determined to downscale their fast-track world after reading the revolutionary bestseller Your Money or Your Life. Now self-described "reformed yuppies" who have been following that book's nine-step program of voluntary simplicity since 1991, they relate their experiences--and those of more than two dozen others--in Getting a Life. A dynamic companion to the work that spurred them to action, Blix and Heitmiller's book is packed with inspiring anecdotes as well as practical suggestions for transforming frantic, materialistic behavior into a slower-paced, more fulfilling existence.

Customer Reviews:

When Less Really Is More.......2007-09-04

Getting a Life is a companion piece to the better known Your Money or Your Life, a pioneering book of the "voluntary simplicity" movement. Jacqueline Blix and David Heitmiller, a married couple who successfully worked through the nine-step program outlined in Your Money or Your Life, here recount their own experience with the process and discuss the real life experiences of numerous others who have used that book to simplify their own lives.

Not too many years before writing Getting a Life, Blix and Heitmiller were living the good yuppie life to which most Americans still aspire. They were homeowners who drove late-model cars and owned a boat. They took expensive vacations every year. But they had come to realize that "standard of living" and "quality of life" were two different things, and they were searching for alternatives when they discovered Your Money or Your Life (written by Joe Dominguez and Vicki Robin) and found in it the inspiration they needed to take charge of their lives.

They decided that they were on a treadmill to nowhere if they continued to chase "the good life" by constantly upgrading all of the toys that surrounded them. The desire to always drive late model cars, to have the latest high-tech electronic gadgets and to vacation in the current hot spots was costing them more than money. Blix and Heitmiller came to the realization that they were trading all of their life energy for "stuff" that they didn't even have the time to enjoy anymore. And they wanted to do something about it.

They decided what was important to them and what was not and, in the process, they realized that they could live on a fraction of the income they were earning by simply cutting out all the frills that they really didn't need or enjoy anyway. Both were able eventually to quit their jobs in corporate America and to substitute part-time work as self-employed writers to supplement the interest earned on their savings. Opting out of the rat race allows them the time to do volunteer work and to spend enough time with friends and family to really get to know them. For Blix and Heitmiller, "less is more" is not just cliché. It's their way of life, and they are happier now than ever before.

Getting a Life is a good starting point for anyone looking for a way out of the fast lane. It offers a concise summary of the nine-steps originally offered in Your Money or Your Life and it provides the encouragement of real life success stories of people who have made those principles work for themselves. The book does tend to get a little repetitive at times and the personal stories all begin to sound too much alike, but the message is a good one.

Not for your average Joe/Josephine.......2007-02-20

The fundamental conceit of this book is that the authors were only able to leave the 'fasttrack' because they DID buy into the accumulation dream long enough to acquire enough assets to liquidate and collect interest on. This book is an in-depth outline of their denial that this was a necessary pre-condition.

I've never bought into nor had the aptitude for the yuppie dream in the first place so maybe I'm the bigger fool for still going ahead and reading this whole book. You will find a few useful tips for lateral-thinking on how you can get by on less (or in my case, what I have). Are you a high-income earner who needs an extended pep-talk to assure you that you won't be a total loser if you chuck in the job and the fancy car and *shocker* live within your means? If you answered yes this book is for you. The authors outline a super plan for two adults to get by on the average monthly family wage. You may have to remember to switch off your lights when you leave a room but it will be SO WORTH IT.

They refer in passing to other people whom they have encountered in their simplicity and frugality groups who did not have the monetary headstart they did but dispense with further details with indecent haste.

excellent book, shows that you still can have a decent life.......2003-09-15

I really enjoyed this book. It deals with two middle class people who lived a typical american lifestyle. they had high paying high stress jobs, a beautiful home and lots of toys. They decided to trade in the overconsumption lifestyle for a more fullfilling and more simple life without a paycheck and stress from employment. If you are looking for how to get by on $600 a month, this book will disappoint you (see other reviews below). The authors live on $3000/month which may seem outrageous if your current standard of living is half of that. Their lifestyle includes more than the basic necessities such as food and shelter to stay alive. They go on vacations and trips, have hobbies, own an economy car, go out for dinner occasionally, live in a normal house in a decent neighborhood, read the newspaper etc.. Their life is simplified but still includes most comforts and some luxeries of today's society. Living more simply does not mean deprivation to them, but removing clutter (especially "stuff") from their lives and focus on what they enjoy in life and have TIME. The book goes into detail on what kind of life they lead, standard of living etc. and detailed financial balance of their $3000/month budget. I would only not recommend reading this book if you plan to lead a complete bare bone life or if you are in a very low income segment. The only criticism I have is that they do not think inflation is an issue. Although that may be the case for some basic food items and electronics, I think the ever increasing healthcare premiums will skyrocket as you get older.

A must for breaking away from consumer culture.......1999-10-02

If you are interested in simple living, this book is a must (together with its companion volume, "Your Money Or Your Life"). It gives the personal and human side of the process of breaking away from the high-paced consumer culture. Interviews with others going through the process show how many different paths people are taking. At first I thought a quick skim through this book would be enough, but I've found myself coming back to it again and again in the last two years. The few negative reviews below don't seem to have much to do with the book, which is pleasant and unpretentious.

good book but too yuppy for a poor artist like me.......1999-07-07

I loved YMOYL and hoped this book would be as good. While I did learn a few things, I wished they had spent more time talking about others and less time talking about themselves. They were typical rich yuppie types with more money and stuff than they knew what to do with. The poor things have $9,000 a year in IRA interest alone besides the number of other investments they had. Not to knock having money, but I'm a starving artist type that had never bought into the yuppie dream. I would have liked to maybe hear about someone like me or more about people with lots of debts that need ways to get out from under them. (thankfully, I have no debts). :) It just seemed like they needed two books, one for the yuppies with lots of money, who suddenly become socially aware and want to divest themselves of their things, and one book for people who are naturally frugal, or poor, or in debt. If you're in the last category, this book won't appeal to you as much.

Book Description

Strategic Networks examines the new style of industrial co-ordination which enables independent companies to work so closely together that they can sometimes present a 'single face' to the outside world.

Co-ordination is not achieved by mergers and acquisitions, but through the creation of a 'strategic network' of companies working towards the same goals. Based on the author's extensive research, the book first analyses the economic arguments for
industry co-ordination, and suggests in which industries it is most likely to occur. The second part of the book focuses on * managerial implications for this type of organization * impact on responsibilties * control without ownership * co-operation
instead of competition * how to set up alliances and how to maintain them A wide range of international examples and cases are featured in the book. J. Carlos Jarillo is Professor of Strategy at the University of Geneva (previously Professor of General
Management and International Strategy at IMD, Switzerland). His research on strategy has been widely published in more than two dozen articles and books. He also acts as senior adviser to a large number of international corporations.

Examines the new style of industrial co-ordination
Based on extensive research by the author

Customer Reviews:

Very good book!!!.......2002-07-24

Very interesting. Still up tp date. It helped me a lot to understand the structure of business nowadays. Very good approach, just excellent!

Quite good but.......2000-02-07

As it is true that the autor used transaction cost theory he never mentionned it in his book. I think the work has a good quality in the descriptive study of Benetton firm but more topics should have been developped like trust relationship. As a concluding remark I really dislike the lack of bibliography.

Jarillo presents interesting ideas.......1999-09-26

In strategic networks, Jarillo uses transaction cost economics in order to illustrate how networked organisations can achieve a competitive advantage. His ideas are interesting, but I think most readers should first read his seminal journal article on the subject, before deciding to by this book.

Average customer rating:

Being Excellent By Yeilding Excellence and Defining Your Excellence

Very Useful but Not Perfect

Genuine Marketing pays off

Enjoyable, Insiteful, and Highly Relevant

Excellent Analysis

The Myth of Excellence: Why Great Companies Never Try to Be the Best at Everything
Fred Crawford , and Ryan Mathews
Manufacturer: Three Rivers Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Strategy & Competition | Management & Leadership | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
Leadership | Management & Leadership | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
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General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
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Differentiate or Die: Survival in Our Era of Killer Competition

The Deviant's Advantage: How to Use Fringe Ideas to Create Mass Markets

What's Your Story?: Storytelling to Move Markets, Audiences, People, and Brands

Visionary's Handbook: Nine Paradoxes That Will Shape the Future of Your Business

Blue Ocean Strategy: How to Create Uncontested Market Space and Make Competition Irrelevant

ASIN: 0609810014
Release Date: 2003-05-27

Book Description

Ex•cel•lence (n.) 1. The clearly false and destructive theory that a company ought to be great at everything it does. 2. A mistaken goal in which the predictable outcome is that the company ends up world-class at nothing—not well-differentiated and therefore not thought of by consumers at the moment of need.

Based on exhaustive research, The Myth of Excellence provides conclusive evidence of the futility of trying to be excellent in all aspects of a commercial transaction—price, product, access, experience, and service. Instead, the strategy for your products and services should be to dominate on one element, differentiate on a second, and be at industry par (i.e., average) on the rest. Yes, it is okay to be average as long as your customers know specifically where and how you are superior and world-class.

Customer Reviews:

Being Excellent By Yeilding Excellence and Defining Your Excellence.......2006-06-22

The Myth of Excellence - trying to be the best at everything makes wasteful use of your resources and confuses consumers. There are five attributes to any business transaction: price, service, access, product and experience. According to this study of 10,000 consumers, executives and client engagements, companies that excel dominate in one category, differentiate in another and are on par with the industry average on the other three. Customers buy for different reasons. It is an outmoded thinking that purchases are mainly based on lowest price or highest quality.

To survive and prosper you must know which attributes of the five that your customers value the most and concentrate on one of them. You do this while being above average on the next attribute and on par with the last three. If you fall below par on any of these, your business will be rejected.

Top businesses engage in customer relevancy - what the customer values most. Customers desire a personal experience that supports their individual value system. They are looking for recognition as individuals. Sam Walton used to ask his employees and customers what they would change if they owned his store - Walmart.

Lowest price is not important to most customers. They do want however a fair price and a feeling of saving money. Most companies fall behind on service because customers are always redefining what good service means. They want to know that they are being given at least due consideration. They expect a basic level of competence. Access has to do with ease of use and availability. Convenience and forthrightness of information is paramount in this attribute. Your product must be credible and of consistent quality. Finally the experience is more than entertainment. It is a sense of intimacy. Courtesy, appearance of staff and store, and respect are part of the experience.

Of these five, the attribute that is capitalized on must inspire the customer. It would intimately handle their needs and problems. It would indivually acknowledge and reaffirm the consumer and deliver a high level of trust. It will be 'the' factor that drives people to your store.

When it is discovered through survey and communications what your customers and potential customers value, and one of their main concerns is addressed with emphasis, and this value-proposition is shared with-in and with-out the company, prosperity will ensue.

Excellent book by two world-renowned business consultants.

Five Stars

Very Useful but Not Perfect.......2006-05-21

This book points out something interestingly in favor of Christianity: That while (traditional) protestant Christianity became watered down, that since the 1950s, the global suicide rate rose by 60 percent.

This book will help show you how to maintain and improve your business, but it is wrong however in saying that you can't be excellent in all of the business attributes it mentions. It gives no evidence that you can't be good at all of them.

Genuine Marketing pays off.......2002-07-03

The success of any company always depend on the discipline of marketing, breaking off the malpractice adopted by and large by many companies. Respect, service, trust, genuine quality are the values to strengthen from the grass root levels. Fred Crawford and Ryan Mathews with a in-depth research of many companies reveals that customer service is the key to success and the customer experience is the prime dedicating factor consideration in time to come. The book is an insight to the companies to offer the best by examining their products and executing them with par excellence to stand by the competitive edge. Myth of Excellence is way of the wizard to gain the confidence of the customers. The idea to give a commission and link to something `free' is a common notion. The rates pulled up to a 20% and than the discount offered only stems out indecent bargain ethics. Brand name and quality are in demand and customers often resort to the quality and service of the consumer products. Catching promotions do attract but the consumer stays unimpressed if quality, service & trust is not offered.Trust is the key of a merchant's scale to shoot up the success chart. This book is a read for CEOs and Company marketing Dept executives to play their roles and create a brand offering the best of the best to keep the customer list hooked to their line of products. Appreciation of the customers motivates the team for a success. This book is a good read for CEO's of Companies whofall below standards and it stands a handy resource guide to marketers who wish to excel and stand a `class apart' wading the competition to be on top. I recommend this book as it has the value guidance for Companies who want to reach the `winning edge'- Whatever be the product!

Enjoyable, Insiteful, and Highly Relevant.......2002-06-21

A very good book, not only easy to read but enjoyable and motivating as well. I believe these guys are right on the money with their research and analysis. I agree with the interrpretations of the research data and found myself saying "Yes, that's just how I feel." in response to many of the stories of customer interactions.

I believe that this book addresses the most important areas of business today and identifies what consumers are "screaming" for - SERVICE, RESPECT, etc. Most of this book is common sence - it's amazing how uncommon it is that these principles are put into practice. We are at a transition in the business world where product quality is easily duplicated by many competitors. Customer service and the customer "experience" will be the deciding factor in the decades to come. I would hope that all businesses would buy this book and work towards being the kind of companies used in the case studies here. What a pleasure it would be if all of our day to day dealings were with companies of this caliber!

The authors recognition of the end of the Information age and movement into a new age where "appreciation and reverence for life" become the motivating factors for those who wish to succeed, shows just how in-tune they are with the world around us. This recognition will be invaluable to all businesses as time goes on - now, who will take advantage of it and use it wisely?

I highly reccommend this book for everyone from the CEO to the consumer. People are asking (demanding) for RESPECT, as they should, and the businesses that understand this and embrace this will be the future winners.

Excellent Analysis.......2002-03-13

I loved the analysis and explanations. At first I missed the relevancy of the conceptual models. The examples of the attributes were both enjoyable and well researched and the tables at the conclusion where extremely interesting and insightful. The authors make valid points with regard to consumer relevancy.

The Myth Of Excellence - Why Great Companies Never Try To Be The Best At Everything

Average customer rating:

The Myth Of Excellence - Why Great Companies Never Try To Be The Best At Everything
Fred and Mathews, Ryan Crawford
Manufacturer: Crown Business
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000IX3858

Book Description

"Roger Axtell is the international Emily Post."-The New Yorker

English has become the global language-the dominant language used in international trade, science, technology, and travel. But for most Americans, the potential for linguistic misunderstanding, confusion, and embarrassment when using English with nonnative speakers is greater now than ever. In this essential guide, veteran international businessman and raconteur Roger E. Axtell shows you how to use English successfully in any business or social context-and how to avoid making embarrassing or misleading statements to people who are trying to understand you. Inside you'll find:
* Valuable rules for making yourself understood when communicating with people from other cultures
* Dozens of amusing anecdotes that illustrate the potential trials and pitfalls of using American English around the world
* The important differences between American English and the English spoken in Great Britain, Canada, Australia, and South Africa
* Helpful advice on using interpreters and translators
* Special sections on communicating in English with speakers of other languages, including Japanese, German, French, and Italian
* Tips on telephone conversation and dangerous cognates

Book Description

This investment and business guide contains basic information on economy, business & investment climate and opportunities in the region, as well as information on selected export-import, business and investment opportunities, including, export-import, industrial development, banking & finance, government and business contacts. The guide also provides listing and contact information for major industrial, trade, service and other companies in the region, as well as information on selected export-import, business and investment opportunities.

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