Big Data
Financial Times Business Book of the Year Finalist "Illuminating and very timely . . . a fascinating -- and sometimes alarming -- survey of big data's growing effect on just about everything: business, government, science and medicine, privacy, and even on the way we think."--New York Times It seems like "big data" is in the news every day, as we read the latest examples of how powerful algorithms are teasing out the hidden connections between seemingly unrelated things. Whether it is used by the NSA to fight terrorism or by online retailers to predict customers' buying patterns, big data is a revolution occurring around us, in the process of forever changing economics, science, culture, and the very way we think. But it also poses new threats, from the end of privacy as we know it to the prospect of being penalized for things we haven't even done yet, based on big data's ability to predict our future behavior. What we have already seen is just the tip of the iceberg. Big Data is the first major book about this earthshaking subject, with two leading experts explaining what big data is, how it will change our lives, and what we can do to protect ourselves from its hazards. "An optimistic and practical look at the Big Data revolution -- just the thing to get your head around the big changes already underway and the bigger changes to come." --Cory Doctorow, boingboing.com
Common Sense Talent Management
A comprehensive guide to using strategic HR methods to increase company performance. This book explains what strategic human resources means, how it differs from other HR activities, and why it is critical to business performance. It walks through key questions for designing, deploying and integrating different strategic HR processes including staffing, performance management, compensation, succession management, and development. The book also addresses the role of technology in strategic HR, and discusses how to get companies to support, adopt, and maintain effective strategic HR processes. The book includes dozens of illustrative examples of effective and ineffective strategic HR using stories drawn from a range of companies and industries.
Trouble on the Inca Trail
Trouble on the Inca Trail presents you with numerous challenging situations that require you to choose from a set of possible actions that offer the best chance for survival. To begin, you embark on the simulated adventure alone, determining your own choices, and then you take the journey as a team member making the decisions by group consensus. Afterward, compare your choices with what the group selects and determine whether the group performs better than any one individual alone. Trouble on the Inca Trail tests your knowledge and survival skills. Through this challenging and fun-filled simulated activity, you will learn how to work with others to solve problems and hone your team synergy and action-planning skills.
Web-Based Human Resources
Today's Human Resources function is being transformed by the Web. Web-Based Human Resources shows HR professionals how to use online technologies to offer more services to more employees at a lower cost. It offers concrete tips on which approaches are most effective in small, medium, and large organizations; provides a framework for transforming HR from a support function to one centered on organization-wide productivity and learning; and explains all the key web technologies and trends that are changing the HR function--for the better!
The Six SIGMA Way: How to Maximize the Impact of Your Change and Improvement Efforts, Second Edition
The Definitive Work on Six Sigma-Revised and Fully Updated Upon its publication in 2000, The Six Sigma Way was among the very first books to clearly explain the impressive benefits of Six Sigma's improvement-driven and customer-centric approach to business leaders and managers. It revealed how GE, Motorola, and other companies used Six Sigma to fine-tune products and processes, improve performance, reduce costs, build customer loyalty, and increase profits. Corporate leaders around the world heeded the call and began implementing the tools of this world-changing performance improvement. In short, this book changed the world of business and organization improvement forever. Now, this author dream team has revisited the subject to bring you fully up to date about how Six Sigma has been used-for better and for worse-during the past 14 years. This new edition of The Six Sigma Way retains everything from the original classic- what Six Sigma is, how it works, and how to adapt it to your particular needs-while providing valuable new sections on lessons learned and setting the record straight regarding myths and misunderstandings perpetuated over the years. This all-in-one guide provides: Practical Six Sigma implementation guidelines anyone can understand New insights from managers who successfully applied the advice from the first edition Detailed case studies from such companies as Adobe, Macy's, and Starwood Hands-on "maps" that guide you through key decisions you must make The definitive guide to successfully implementing Lean Six Sigma approaches into any organization is essential for any manager who wants to stop thinking about building a continuous improvement culture-and actually make it happen. Business has changed dramatically in recent years. Being second best used to be an option; today, being the best is the only way to survive. Take charge of your company's future and make positive changes The Six Sigma Way.
Disaster Recovery, Crisis Response and Business Community
You're in charge of IT, facilities, or core operations for your organization when a hurricane or a fast-moving wildfire hits. What do you do? Simple. You follow your business continuity/disaster recovery plan. If you've prepared in advance, your operation or your company can continue to conduct business while competitors stumble and fall. Even if your building goes up in smoke, or the power is out for ten days, or cyber warriors cripple your IT systems, you know you will survive. But only if you have a plan. You don't have one? Then Disaster Recovery, Crisis Response, and Business Continuity: A Management Desk Reference, which explains the principles of business continuity and disaster recovery in plain English, might be the most important book you'll read in years. Business continuity is a necessity for all businesses as emerging regulations, best practices, and customer expectations force organizations to develop and put into place business continuity plans, resilience features, incident-management processes, and recovery strategies. In larger organizations, responsibility for business continuity falls to specialist practitioners dedicated to continuity and the related disciplines of crisis management and IT service continuity. In smaller or less mature organizations, it can fall to almost anyone to prepare contingency plans, ensure that the critical infrastructure and systems are protected, and give the organization the greatest chance to survive events that can--and do--bankrupt businesses. A practical how-to guide, this book explains exactly what you need to do to set up and run a successful business continuity program. Written by an experienced consultant with 25 years industry experience in disaster recovery and business continuity, it contains tools and techniques to make business continuity, crisis management, and IT service continuity much easier. If you need to prepare plans and test and maintain them, then this book is written for you. You will learn: How to complete a business impact assessment. How to write plans that are easy to implement in a disaster. How to test so that you know your plans will work. How to make sure that your suppliers won't fail you in a disaster. How to meet customer, audit, and regulatory expectations. Disaster Recovery, Crisis Response, and Business Continuity: A Management Desk Reference will provide the tools, techniques, and templates that will make your life easier, give you peace of mind, and turn you into a local hero when disaster strikes.
Value-Driven Business Process Management: The Value-Switch for Lasting Competitive Advantage
Praise for Value-Driven Business Process Management "The book goes well beyond a traditional methods-and-tools perspective to present the most current, broadly informed view of BPM as a management discipline. . . ."--Paul O'Flaherty, Finance Director, Eskom "Franz and Kirchmer go directly to the heart of the role of BPM in business by focusing on value as the driver, management discipline as the requirement, and translating strategy into execution as the measure of success. . . ."--Richard Maltsbarger, SVP of Strategy & BPM, Lowe's Companies, Inc. "If your CEO has delivered a set of strategic imperatives, you are ready for Value-Driven BPM. This book provides the vision of how to win in the integrated global economy by building a core BPM discipline in your company to simplify the delivery of business strategy. . . ."--Kathleen Donahue, Senior Director of Business Process Management, Pfizer Inc. "Business Process Management (BPM) has to be implemented as a management discipline and linked to the strategic imperatives of an organization in order to achieve the best business impact. Franz and Kirchmer show how this can be achieved. . . . I recommend the book to top executives, BPM practitioners, as well as the academic world."--Professor Dr. Drs. h.c. August-Wilhelm Scheer, BPM Thought Leader and Entrepreneur "Value-Driven Business Process Management is a game-changing book. . . ."--Larry M. Starr, Ph.D., Executive Director and Academic Chair, Organizational Dynamics Graduate Studies, University of Pennsylvania "Franz and Kirchmer provide a strong foundation for readers in every phase of their BPM life cycle."--Alan Trefler, Founder and CEO, Pegasystems Inc. "Value-driven BPM, as defined by Franz and Kirchmer, is an insightful way to use the available methods and tools to get real business impact through process management. It is a fresh approach to quickly move from strategy into execution."--Dr. Wolfram Jost, CTO, Software AG About the Book: Business Process Management (BPM) is a powerful management discipline for driving efficiency and innovation, as well as achieving strategic imperatives. When you develop a business strategy that is supported by a pragmatic application of BPM, your processes become important assets--and business success soon follows. It's called value-driven BPM, and this game-changing guide takes you step by step through the entire process. A team of BPM experts from the global management consulting company Accenture provides some of the key ingredients you need to achieve the highest levels of differentiation and performance. Franz and Kirchmer explain how to launch value-driven BPM in synchronicity with existing BPM efforts, and they reveal common roadblocks along with clear steps for overcoming them. With Value-Driven Business Process Management, you have in your hands a full-suite guide to: Achieving immediate business benefi ts while building lasting BPM capabilities Putting the right team and infrastructure in place to build an organization designed for an outcome and value-based BPM capability Assessing and prioritizing process improvements in alignment with the overall business strategy to meet the most vital needs and deliver the most value The authors include several end-to-end case studies from a range of industries. These deliver valuable insight into successfully linking processes to value. If your goal is to empower every employee at every level to express his or her virtuosity in a way that is aligned with strategy, this book is for you. If you seek to create innovative products and services that meet changing customer requirements, this book is for you. If you want your people and technological capabilities to execute the new paradigm with excellence, and thus realize unprecedented value, this book is for you. If you want to seize the competitive edge now--a
Global Supply Chain Management
LEVERAGE YOUR SUPPLY CHAIN FOR MAXIMUM PROFIT Do you have a global supply chain strategy designed for the long run? About 90 percent of global demand is not fully met by local supply, and global supply chains will soon account for 25 percent of multinational firms' performance--meanwhile, supply chains need to become 43 percent more global in the next decade just to maintain a firm's competitive edge. Written by three of today's leading experts on the subject--each from Michigan State University, the uncontested world leader of supply chain management--Global Supply Chain Management gives you the know-how and tools to dramatically boost supply chain efficiency by making it a core element of your overall corporate strategy. Global Supply Chain Management takes you step by step through the process of creating and managing a global supply chain strategy and aligning it with the conditions of your industry. Learn everything you need to know about developing a core strategy plus strategies for each of the critical supply chain functions: LOGISTICS--Integrate logistics strategy and tactical activities PURCHASING--Manage the transition to purchasing globally OPERATIONS--Systematically design, direct, and control processes MARKET CHANNELS--Effectively connect your supply chain to customers With in-depth case studies and data showing how American Express, AB InBev, Dell, FedEx, Daimler, Microsoft, Nestl矇, Nokia, and several other prominent companies have applied global supply chain strategy to increase profits and growth, Global Supply Chain Management helps you take action to drive similar success in your company. If you're serious about competing today--and in the future--you must integrate and leverage strategic supply chain management into your overall corporate strategy. Global Supply Chain Management provides everything you need to build a strategy designed for the long run. PRAISE FOR GLOBAL SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT "This book does a superb job of using a total value perspective and integrating business functions into a strategic framework for global supply chain management that can be leveraged for success." -- Leif Johansson, Chairman of the Board of Directors of AstraZeneca, Ericsson, European Round Table of Industrialists, and the International Advisory Board of the Nobel Foundation "Written by a superb team of world-leading authors on global supply chain management, this book provides a great framework for companies to leverage global supply chain functions and processes, measurements, and tools to achieve sustained strategic advantage in the global marketplace." -- Michael Lawton, Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and Executive Vice President of Finance of Domino's Pizza, Inc. "In our company, we have come to recognize the strategic importance of building and maintaining a global supply chain. This book does an excellent job of identifying a framework for considering the implications of an integrated model for global supply chain management. It's clear that the authors have tremendous experience, and they have shared their insights in an innovative and integrative way." -- John Shull, Vice President and Global Procurement Officer of Steelcase Inc. "Global supply chains are critically important to companies in delivering products and services that satisfy customers. Hult, Closs, and Frayer provide an excellent model for how to drive the strategic and operational dimensions of global supply chain management to maximize end-customer value." -- Claes Fornell, Chairman of the Board of Directors of CFI Group Worldwide and ForeSee, and founder of the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI)
Predictive Business Analytics
Discover the breakthrough tool your company can use to make winning decisions This forward-thinking book addresses the emergence of predictive business analytics, how it can help redefine the way your organization operates, and many of the misconceptions that impede the adoption of this new management capability. Filled with case examples, Predictive Business Analytics defines ways in which specific industries have applied these techniques and tools and how predictive business analytics can complement other financial applications such as budgeting, forecasting, and performance reporting. Examines how predictive business analytics can help your organization understand its various drivers of performance, their relationship to future outcomes, and improve managerial decision-making Looks at how to develop new insights and understand business performance based on extensive use of data, statistical and quantitative analysis, and explanatory and predictive modeling Written for senior financial professionals, as well as general and divisional senior management Visionary and effective, Predictive Business Analytics reveals how you can use your business's skills, technologies, tools, and processes for continuous analysis of past business performance to gain forward-looking insight and drive business decisions and actions.
Operations Rules
An expert offers a set of rules that will help managers achieve dramatic improvements in operations performance.In recent years, management gurus have urged businesses to adopt such strategies as just-in-time, lean manufacturing, offshoring, and frequent deliveries to retail outlets. But today, these much-touted strategies may be risky. Global financial turmoil, rising labor costs in developing countries, and huge volatility in the price of oil and other commodities can disrupt a company's entire supply chain and threaten its ability to compete. In Operations Rules, David Simchi-Levi identifies the crucial element in a company's success: the link between the value it provides its customers and its operations strategies. And he offers a set of scientifically and empirically based rules that management can follow to achieve a quantum leap in operations performance.Flexibility, says Simchi-Levi, is the single most important capability that allows firms to innovate in their operations and supply chain strategies. A small investment in flexibility can achieve almost all the benefits of full flexibility. And successful companies do not all pursue the same strategies. Amazon and Wal-Mart, for example, are direct competitors but each focuses on a different market channel and provides a unique customer value proposition--Amazon, large selection and reliable fulfillment; Wal-Mart, low prices--that directly aligns with its operations strategy. Simchi-Levi's rules--regarding such issues as channels, price, product characteristics, value-added service, procurement strategy, and information technolog---transform operations and supply chain management from an undertaking based on gut feeling and anecdotes to a science.
The ISO 9000 Workbook
ISO 9000 authority, Greg Hutchins, presents a comprehensive resource that will assist anyone seeking information and updates on ISO standards. The workbook outlines a proven approach to developing and maintaining quality systems documentation. Starting with a review of quality procedures, work instructions and quality manuals, Hutchins includes a complete explanation of how to prepare each type of quality documentation. Sample quality manuals are included along with step-by-step advice and guidelines. Contains dozens of sample quality procedures and work instructions for a wide variety of business processes.
Value-Driven Intellectual Capital
Als "Intellectual Capital" bezeichnet man den Wert, den ein Unternehmen aus seinem geistigen Eigentum, wie z.B. Produktinnovation, Patente, Urheberrechte und Know-How ziehen kann. In vielen Unternehmen ist geistiges Eigentum mittlerweile zum wichtigsten Aktivposten geworden. Um jedoch seinen Wert voll ausschopfen zu konnen, mussen Unternehmen zunachst einmal verstehen, was Intellectual Capital ist, wo es anzutreffen ist, wie man es investiert und wie man es erntet. Dabei ist es wichtig, da? ein Unternehmen den strategischen Wert jedes einzelnen seiner geistigen Aktivposten bestimmt und festlegt, wie es diesen Wert am Markt prasentiert. "Value Driven-Intellectual Capital" zeigt dem Unternehmen, wie es diese scheinbar immateriellen Wirtschaftsguter maximiert und sie in einen entscheidenden Wettbewerbsvorteil verwandelt.
World Without Secrets
Durch die rasante Entwicklung und Installation neuer Informationstechnologien r羹ckt es unaufhaltsam n瓣her - das Zeitalter des allgegenw瓣rtigen Computers. Dadurch sind wir Menschen in einem noch gr繹?eren Umfang als zuvor Maschinen ausgesetzt, die alles 羹berwachen, aufzeichnen und analysieren, was um uns herum geschieht. Nichts bleibt mehr verborgen; Geheimnisse gibt es nicht mehr! Doch dieses Umfeld wird sich nachhaltig auf die Unternehmenswelt, die Gesellschaft und jeden einzelnen auswirken. Dieses Buch behandelt ein brandaktuelles Thema und setzt sich kritisch mit allen Aspekten allgegenw瓣rtiger Computertechnologie auseinander. "World Without Secrets" analysiert genau, welche Konsequenzen eine Welt ohne Geheimnisse hat, diskutiert welche Optionen es gibt und wirft einen kritischen Blick auf die Zukunft der Computerkriminalit瓣t.
Rise and Fall of Strategic Planning
In this definitive and revealing history, Henry Mintzberg, the iconoclastic former president of the Strategic Management Society, unmasks the press that has mesmerized so many organizations since 1965: strategic planning. One of our most brilliant and original management thinkers, Mintzberg concludes that the term is an oxymoron -- that strategy cannot be planned because planning is about analysis and strategy is about synthesis. That is why, he asserts, the process has failed so often and so dramatically. Mintzberg traces the origins and history of strategic planning through its prominence and subsequent fall. He argues that we must reconceive the process by which strategies are created -- by emphasizing informal learning and personal vision -- and the roles that can be played by planners. Mintzberg proposes new and unusual definitions of planning and strategy, and examines in novel and insightful ways the various models of strategic planning and the evidence of why they failed. Reviewing the so-called "pitfalls" of planning, he shows how the process itself can destroy commitment, narrow a company's vision, discourage change, and breed an atmosphere of politics. In a harsh critique of many sacred cows, he describes three basic fallacies of the process -- that discontinuities can be predicted, that strategists can be detached from the operations of the organization, and that the process of strategy-making itself can be formalized. Mintzberg devotes a substantial section to the new role for planning, plans, and planners, not inside the strategy-making process, but in support of it, providing some of its inputs and sometimes programming its outputs as well as encouraging strategic thinking in general. This book is required reading for anyone in an organization who is influenced by the planning or the strategy-making processes.
Executive’s Guide to Web Services
Discover how Web services can improve cost-savings and make your organization more competitive. You'll get summaries of developing standards, current vendor positions (Microsoft, Novell, IBM, Oracle, Sun), and industry examples of Web services solutions and benefits. Order your copy today!
How to Measure Training Results
How to Measure Training Results presents practical tools for collecting and measuring six types of data critical to an overall evaluatin of training. This timely resource: Includes dozens of reproducible tools and processes for training evaluation Shows how to measure both financial and intangible/non-financial results
Innovating for Growth and Value
A must-read leadership guide for CIOs and executives whose careers depend on creating value and growth through continuous innovation Innovation is the hot topic. Everyone's talking about it, but there seems to be a lot of misperceptions about getting it done. Innovating for Growth and Value is aimed at CIOs and other technology leaders in the modern enterprise. This insider's guide to innovation presents repeatable processes, detailed methodologies, and robust frameworks for innovation and continuous transformation in today's fast-paced business environments. It provides actionable programs for developing and successfully executing profitable and repeatable innovation strategies. Focuses on specific critical areas where innovation is imperative Features real-world stories and revealing anecdotes Presents interviews from international companies such as Netflix, IBM, Cisco, Boeing, Facebook, Intel, Microsoft, McKesson, Flextronics, and more Without innovation, your company cannot compete and cannot survive. So the real question isn't whether to innovate or not. The real question is how to innovate and make innovation strategies work in the modern enterprise. Thoughtfully written and carefully researched, Innovating for Growth and Value grasps the central truth about innovation with a wealth of information made truly valuable for IT leaders and CIOs.
What I Learned Losing a Million Dollars
Jim Paul's meteoric rise took him from a small town in Northern Kentucky to governor of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, yet he lost it all--his fortune, his reputation, and his job--in one fatal attack of excessive economic hubris. In this honest, frank analysis, Paul and Brendan Moynihan revisit the events that led to Paul's disastrous decision and examine the psychological factors behind bad financial practices in several economic sectors. This book--winner of a 2014 Axiom Business Book award gold medal--begins with the unbroken string of successes that helped Paul achieve a jet-setting lifestyle and land a key spot with the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. It then describes the circumstances leading up to Paul's $1.6 million loss and the essential lessons he learned from it--primarily that, although there are as many ways to make money in the markets as there are people participating in them, all losses come from the same few sources. Investors lose money in the markets either because of errors in their analysis or because of psychological barriers preventing the application of analysis. While all analytical methods have some validity and make allowances for instances in which they do not work, psychological factors can keep an investor in a losing position, causing him to abandon one method for another in order to rationalize the decisions already made. Paul and Moynihan's cautionary tale includes strategies for avoiding loss tied to a simple framework for understanding, accepting, and dodging the dangers of investing, trading, and speculating.
Getting Started With Business Analytics
Assuming no prior knowledge or technical skills, Getting Started with Business Analytics: Insightful Decision-Making explores the contents, capabilities, and applications of business analytics. It bridges the worlds of business and statistics and describes business analytics from a non-commercial standpoint. The authors demystify the main concepts and terminologies and give many examples of real-world applications. The first part of the book introduces business data and recent technologies that have promoted fact-based decision-making. The authors look at how business intelligence differs from business analytics. They also discuss the main components of a business analytics application and the various requirements for integrating business with analytics. The second part presents the technologies underlying business analytics: data mining and data analytics. The book helps you understand the key concepts and ideas behind data mining and shows how data mining has expanded into data analytics when considering new types of data such as network and text data. The third part explores business analytics in depth, covering customer, social, and operational analytics. Each chapter in this part incorporates hands-on projects based on publicly available data. Helping you make sound decisions based on hard data, this self-contained guide provides an integrated framework for data mining in business analytics. It takes you on a journey through this data-rich world, showing you how to deploy business analytics solutions in your organization. You can check out the book's website here.
Straight to the Top
Essential reading for IT professionals with aspirations toward the top IT spot, and for sitting CIOs looking to refine their mobile, social and cloud strategies and knowledge The definitive work on how to achieve leadership success in IT, Straight to the Top, Second Edition reveals how the role of the CIO is changing due to major trends associated with consumer and enterprise products and technologies driving new mobile solutions in today's organizations; cloud computing and the move away from controlled / internally managed data centers to pay as you use and elastic cloud infrastructure and application services; and the impact social media is having on today's complex organizations. Author Gregory S. Smith expertly coaches existing and aspiring CIOs on building the requisite skills through his observations and experience as a veteran CIO with more than twenty-five years of experience leading IT teams and delivering complex technical solutions in the information technology field. An invaluable guide to help information technology and business professionals recognize the qualities, skills, and expertise necessary to attain the role of a CIO or enhance the skills for sitting CIOs Equips IT managers, CIOs, and CTOs to strategically plan their career moves Packed with encouragement, advice, and essential skills for aspiring and sitting CIOs Features interviews with leading IT professionals, CIOs, and executive recruiting professionals Providing an organized and comprehensive view of the CIO job and its important role in modern organizations, Straight to the Top, Second Edition equips sitting CIOs and CIO candidates with the strategies and knowledge necessary to be successful in the new business normal - a mobile, social and cloud-based world, and how to provide technology leadership as a world-class CIO.
The Agile Architecture Revolution
A sneak peek at up-and-coming trends in IT, a multidimensional vision for achieving business agility through agile architectures The Agile Architecture Revolution places IT trends into the context of Enterprise Architecture, reinventing Enterprise Architecture to support continuous business transformation. It focuses on the challenges of large organizations, while placing such organizations into the broader business ecosystem that includes small and midsize organizations as well as startups. Organizes the important trends that are facing technology in businesses and public sector organizations today and over the next several years Presents the five broad organizing principles called Supertrends: location independence, global cubicle, democratization of technology, deep interoperability, and complex systems engineering Provides a new perspective on service-oriented architecture in conjunction with architectural approaches to cloud computing and mobile technologies that explain how organizations can achieve better business visibility through IT and enterprise architecture Laying out a multidimensional vision for achieving agile architectures, this book discusses the crisis points that promise sudden, transformative change, unraveling how organizations' spending on IT will continue to undergo radical change over the next ten years.
Transforming IT Culture
Practical, proven guidance for transforming the culture of any IT department As more and more jobs are outsourced, and the economy continues to struggle, people are looking for an alternative to the greed-driven, selfish leadership that has resulted in corporations where the workers are treated as interchangeable parts. This book shows how the human factors can be used to unlock higher returns on human capital such that workers are no longer interchangeable parts, but assets that are cared about and grown. Refreshingly innovative, Transforming IT Culture shows how neuroscientific and psychological research can be applied in the IT workplace to unleash a vast pool of untapped potential. Written by an expert on IT culture transformation Considers the widespread "cultural blindness" in business today, and how it can be addressed Draws on the author's repeated success transforming IT divisions across major corporations by applying the human factors Explains why social intelligence, human factors, and collaboration are the source of harmony, shared learning, mutual respect, and value creation Employees want positive change in business, something to stop the downward spiral we are on, both financially and emotionally. Transforming IT Culture shows how the essential ingredient to any high performing IT department is a culture where employees are valued and managed to their strengths. Using the Information Technology profession as a lens through which we can understand knowledge worker productivity and how to seriously improve it, this important new book reveals why Collaborative Social Systems are essential to every organization.
Big Data Analytics
Unique insights to implement big data analytics and reap big returns to your bottom line Focusing on the business and financial value of big data analytics, respected technology journalist Frank J. Ohlhorst shares his insights on the newly emerging field of big data analytics in Big Data Analytics. This breakthrough book demonstrates the importance of analytics, defines the processes, highlights the tangible and intangible values and discusses how you can turn a business liability into actionable material that can be used to redefine markets, improve profits and identify new business opportunities. Reveals big data analytics as the next wave for businesses looking for competitive advantage Takes an in-depth look at the financial value of big data analytics Offers tools and best practices for working with big data Once the domain of large on-line retailers such as eBay and Amazon, big data is now accessible by businesses of all sizes and across industries. From how to mine the data your company collects, to the data that is available on the outside, Big Data Analytics shows how you can leverage big data into a key component in your business's growth strategy.
The Cpo
In the novel The CPO: Transforming Procurement in the Real World, we meet Thomas Sutter, a German-American living in Dusseldorf and working as a procurement manager for a major global automobile manufacturer, Autowerke. On a chance encounter while flying to Chicago, he meets the CEO of Heartland, a major food company in the U.S. Sutter impresses the CEO with his knowledge and, after a whirlwind courtship, he joins Heartland as its new Chief Procurement Officer, based in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Hired to transform procurement at Heartland, Sutter has an enormous challenge: to bring its procurement practices into the 21st century and save the company $5 billion. Despite the knowledge and experience he gained at Autowerke, Sutter fights over the next 18 months to find his place at Heartland, institute world-class procurement models and methods, win over the procurement teams and senior executives, and meet his goal. At first, his reputation--and his marriage--suffer, alongwith the company's overall sales and revenue. Can he pull a rabbit out of the hat? The CPO: Transforming Procurement depicts the real-life challenges of transforming procurement, while demonstrating the benefits of innovative procurement and leadership methods. Written by global thought leaders in A.T. Kearney's procurement and supply management practice--consultants who have helped numerous companies chop billions of dollars in costs out of their procurement budgets--The CPO will prove invaluable for those in purchasing and procurement. It will also present essential information to those in the C suite looking for ways to boost profits and productivity. The CPO: Portrays best-in-class, real-life, actionable methods to turn procurement into a function that can save billions and improve the bottom line. Provides a fun way to learn essential lessons in procurement and change management. Shows how rejecting victimhood in all its aspects leads to personal and business success. Presents lessons in novel format--like The Goal, Who Moved My Cheese, The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, and others--to engage you and show techniques in action.
Custom Nation
Smart brands such as Chipotle, Zazzle, Nike, and Pandora are ditching the outdated 20th century model of a one-size-fits-all approach to providing products and services. From a Netflix movie night to a marriage courtesy of eHarmony, customization is changing every corner of American life and business. The New York Times bestseller Custom Nation is a practical how-to guide by someone who has built his business on the power of customization. YouBar founder Anthony Flynn and business journalist Emily Flynn Vencat explain how marketers, brand managers, and entrepreneurs across all industries can reinvigorate their businesses and increase profits. In Custom Nation, learn: Why customization is key to today's businesses and what does and doesn't work How to incorporate customization in new and established businesses to make your products stand out and sell What strategies work for the most successful and profitable custom brands Drawing on firsthand interviews with the CEOs and founders of dozens of companies specializing in customization, Custom Nation reveals how customization can make any business stand apart and generate market share, increase profit margins, and develop customer loyalty.
Six Sigma for Dummies
The fast and easy way to understand and implement Six Sigma The world's largest and most profitable companies--including the likes of GE, Bank of America, Honeywell, DuPont, Samsung, Starwood Hotels, Bechtel, and Motorola--have used Six Sigma to achieve breathtaking improvements in business performance, in everything from products to processes to complex systems and even in work environments. Over the past decade, over $100 billion in bottom-line performance has been achieved through corporate Six Sigma programs. Yet, despite its astounding effectiveness, few outside of the community of Six Sigma practitioners know what Six Sigma is all about. With this book, Six Sigma is revealed to everyone. You might be in a company that's already implemented Six Sigma, or your organization may be considering it. You may be a student who wants to learn how it works, or you might be a seasoned business professional who needs to get up to speed. In any case, this updated edition of Six Sigma For Dummies is the most straightforward, non-intimidating guide on the market. New and updated material, including real-world examples What Six Sigma is all about and how it works The benefits of Six Sigma in organizations and businesses The powerful "DMAIC" problem-solving roadmap Yellow, Green and Black--how the Six Sigma "belt" system works How to select and utilize the right tools and technologies Speaking the language of Six Sigma; knowing the roles and responsibilities; and mastering the statistics skills and analytical methods Six Sigma For Dummies will become everyone's No. 1 resource for discovering and mastering the world's most famous and powerful improvement tool. Stephen Covey is spot-on when he says, "Six Sigma For Dummies is a book to be read by everyone."
Using Supply Chain Planning to Drive Competitive Advantage and Performance
In today's competitive global economy, a firm's market position and bottom-line financial performance is closely linked to its supply chain performance. All too often considerable managerial resources are directed toward planning activities and processes with little in the way of tangible results and outcomes. What supply chain executives require is the know-how to efficiently and effectively direct their planning activities so that the results lead to better business decisions from the long-term down to day-to-day operations. In this book, the authors present proven, practical management frameworks and techniques to support supply chain operations management and planning in private industry. These frameworks describe supply chain strategic planning and project selection techniques, integrated manufacturing-distribution planning and scheduling approaches, performance measurement and balanced scorecard methodologies, customer logistics and inventory deployment decision support systems, and other well-tested management frameworks.
Supply Chain Transformation
STREAMLINE OPERATIONS AND DELIVER MORE VALUE THAN EVER WITH A STRONG SUPPLY CHAIN STRATEGY "Dittmann's thoughtful approach and real-world examples make this book is an excellent resource for anyone in the supply chain field, whether a beginner or an executive seeking a better framework for the existing supply chain strategy." -- Dave Clark, Vice President, Global Customer Fulfillment, Amazon "A practical approach for developing and implementing breakthrough customer-driven integrated supply chain strategies designed to generate best in class operating and financial performance for any enterprise." -- Paul H. Trueax III, Vice President, North America Customer Services and Logistics, Colgate Palmolive "An effective supply chain strategy can have a huge impact on all of the stakeholders of the organization. This book lays out nine clear and concise steps that are very helpful as your company starts this critical process." -- Bill Hutchinson, Vice President, Global Supply Chain and Fulfillment, Dell "Dittmann's book lays out a customer-driven, case-derived nine-step method for creating and implementing a transformational supply chain strategy. It is a must-read for any supply chain professional developing or refreshing a supply chain strategy." -- Reuben Slone, Senior Vice President, Supply Chain, Walgreens
Building Cultural Competence
For HR directors, corporate trainers, college administrators, diversity trainers and study abroad educators, this book provides a cutting-edge framework and an innovative collection of ready-to-use tools and activities to help build cultural competence--from the basics of understanding core concepts of culture to the complex work of negotiating identity and resolving cultural differences.Building Cultural Competence presents the latest work in the intercultural field and provides step-by-step instructions for how to effectively work with the new models, frameworks, and exercises for building learners' cultural competence. Featuring fresh activities and tools from experienced coaches, trainers, and facilitators from around the globe, this collection of over 50 easy-to-use activities and models has been used successfully worldwide in settings that range from Fortune 500 corporations to the World Bank, non-profits, and universities. Learn updates on classic models like the DIE (Description, Interpretation, Evaluation) framework and the U-Curve model of adjustment. Engage in new exercises to help build intercultural competence, using the practical step-by-step guidance on how to effectively facilitate these activities. Stay relevant and have positive impact with clients, organizations, and students with these well-organized, easy-to-implement, and high impact collection of frameworks, models, and activities.The new, research-based models work for developing cultural competence in any environment, and for designing effective cultural competence courses. Education abroad administrators will be able to use these activities in their pre- departure orientations for students going abroad. Corporate human resource professionals will find these activities invaluable in cultural competence building programs.
Statistics for Six Sigma Made Easy!
A PLAIN ENGLISH GUIDE TO SOLVING REAL-WORLD PROBLEMS WITH SIX SIGMASix Sigma is one of the most effective strategies for improving processes, creating better products, and boosting customer satisfaction, but business leaders often balk at its reputation for being too complex. Don't fall into that trap. Six Sigma is simple to understand and implement--if you have Statistics for Six Sigma Made Easy!Warren Brussee has helped businesses save millions of dollars with Six Sigma, and he explains how you can achieve similar results in this step-by-step guide. He presents a thorough overview of the Six Sigma methodology and techniques for successful implementation, as well as a clear explanation of DMAIC--the problem-solving method used by Six Sigma Greenbelts. Statistics for Six Sigma Made Easy! provides: A simplified form of the most common Six Sigma toolsAll the basic Six Sigma formulas and tablesDozens of Six Sigma statistical problem-solving case studiesA matrix for finding the right statistical tool to meet your needsBasic Greenbelt training in one concise referenceBest of all, no background in statistics is required--you can start improving quality and initiating costsavingimprovements right away. Statistics for Six Sigma Made Easy! is the only reference you need to facilitate real-world application of Six Sigma tools.
Designing Socially and Environmentally Responsible Supply Chains
If you are a supply chain manager, an executive, an entrepreneur, or a stakeholder in a sustainable business, this book will help you develop the awareness and skills needed to support sustainable supply chain management in your firm. The authors introduce the many ways that social and environmental responsibility can be integrated into supply chain management, from sustainable product and process design to programs and techniques that support product end-of-life management. The book begins with a discussion of sustainability and business strategy. It then explores product and process design, sustainable purchasing and logistics, and product end-of-life management topics. The authors include real-world examples and cases from some of the world's leading companies in sustainable supply chain management. The examples range from small local companies to large multinational players to give a broad range of ideas to the reader. With case examples, workshops, and step-by-step instructions on how to create a sustainable supply chain, Sustainability Delivered is the most practical and usable book on the market that will help you and other business leaders to authentically pursue and deliver on sustainability ideals
Big Book of Low-Cost Training Games
Make training a game that everyone can win! Featuring activities and exercises designed for groups of any size, The Big Book of Low-Cost Training Games proves that training can still deliver outstanding results, even when you're watching the bottom line. Whether you're a trainer or facilitator, a group leader or manager, you'll find the games in this book are excellent tools for building trust, exploring character, fostering collaboration, and demonstrating more effective communication techniques. Better still, with minimal props like index cards and markers, these activities are not just cost-effective but are also simple to set up and can be done virtually anywhere. From painless icebreakers to group challenges to meaningful community-building projects, The Big Book of Low-Cost Training Games is your winning game plan for maximizing group engagement and getting the most ROI from your training budget.
Making Ideas Happen
"Ideas are easy. Implementation is hard. This book helps you with the hard part." -Guy Kawasaki, author of Enchantment According to productivity expert Scott Belsky, no one is born with the ability to drive creative projects to completion. Execution is a skill that must be developed by building your organizational habits and harnessing the support of your colleagues.As the founder and CEO of Behance, a company on a mission to empower and organize the creative world, Belsky has studied the habits of especially productive individuals and teams across industries. Now he has compiled the principles and techniques they share, and presents a systematic approach to creative organization and productivity.While many of us focus on generating and searching for great ideas, Belsky shows why it's better to develop the capacity to make ideas happen-a capacity that endures over time.
Front Line Heroes
It is possible to develop and grow powerful organizations in challenging times--it just takes courage, determination, and actionable techniques that work. In Front Line Heroes, Bruce Hodes offers executives and business leaders advice culled from 30 years of coaching privately held companies ranging from $5 million to $100 million in size. With humor, real-world examples, and step-by-step guides, the book explains: - How to make mission, values, and BHAGS relevant to daily organizational life - 7 essential rules for effective strategic planning - How to transform groups into high-performance teams - 4 organizational enigmas and the missing link that solves them - How to eliminate mediocrity from employee performance--for good If you are ready to stop playing victim to the times, Front Line Heroes will arm you with the tools you need to achieve sustainable business growth.
Forecasting for Economics and Business
For junior/senior undergraduates in a variety of fields such as economics, business administration, applied mathematics and statistics, and for graduate students in quantitative masters programs such as MBA and MA/MS in economics.A student-friendly approach to understanding forecasting.Knowledge of forecasting methods is among the most demanded qualifications for professional economists, and business people working in either the private or public sectors of the economy. The general aim of this textbook is to carefully develop sophisticated professionals, who are able to critically analyze time series data and forecasting reports because they have experienced the merits and shortcomings of forecasting practice.
13 Steps to Manufacturing in China
A comprehensive reference book providing the tactics, strategies, and methodology for establishing a manufacturing plant in China. The book is jam packed with details including sourcing Chinese equipment, importing used or new equipment, building construction, and permit requirements.
Outrageous Fortunes
"Informative and accessible, penetrating and provocative. . . . A first-rate guide to global trends." --NPR.org As individuals, companies, and countries struggle to recover from the economic crisis, many are narrowly focused on forecasts for the next week, month, or quarter. Yet they should be asking what the global economy will look like in the years to come--where will the long-term risks and opportunities arise? These are the questions that Daniel Altman confronts in his provocative and indispensable book. The fate of the global economy, Altman argues, will be determined by deeper factors than those that move markets from moment to moment. His incisive analysis brings together hidden trends, societal pressures, and policy endgames to make twelve surprising but logical predictions about the years ahead and to pose the question of whether our political and economic institutions are up to the task. Outrageous Fortunes tells which industries will grow, which economies will crumble, which investments will pay off, and where the next big crisis may occur. Altman's carefully reasoned text is an essential guide for the road ahead, and in a new preface written for this edition, he shows how these trends are revealing themselves in today's global economy.
To the Cloud: Cloud Powering an Enterprise
This invaluable guide addresses the Why, What, and How of enterprise cloud adoption, leveraging a clear framework and proven best practices from Microsoft's own experience."Great book. What's particularly impressive is the outline of steps Microsoft itself is taking in its move to the cloud. Do as I do is always more powerful than do as I say."--Al Ries, Coauthor, War in the Boardroom"This book takes on enterprise cloud adoption to a level I've not seen before--made even more elegant with its structured framework and crisp approach." --Anthony D. Christie, CMO, Level 3 Communications, Former CTO/CIO, Global Crossing "A practical and timely guide that covers the entire journey to the cloud from an enterprise perspective, including business, technology, and organizational impact."--Bart Luijten, CIO Corporate Functions & Corporate Technology, Philips"The cloud powers business solutions for building tomorrow's enterprise and this book offers a simple, well-structured, and high-level process map for cloud adoption."--Kris Gopalakrishnan, Executive Co-Chairman, Infosys LimitedCloud computing is full of tremendous opportunity, but is also riddled with hype and confusion. Business and technology leaders know the cloud is essential, but lack clarity and experience. To the Cloud cuts through the noise and addresses the Why, What, and How of enterprise cloud adoption. The book lays out a four-step framework leveraging the experience and best practices of Microsoft's own IT group. It provides end-to-end business and technology guidance, including how to analyze application portfolios to identify good cloud candidates, choose the right cloud models, consider architecture and security, and understand how shifting operations to the cloud affects budgeting and staffing.The book is applicable to all cloud platforms and providers, and debunks myths in its clear and concise style (e.g., real clouds are more than just web hosting, virtualization, or the Internet itself rebranded). It takes a balanced approach, addressing concerns and hybrid adoption scenarios alike. Leveraging the authors' proven expertise working for Microsoft's CIO on cloud migration and with cloud platform development teams, the book is supported by clear frameworks, graphics, tables, summaries, and checklists to provide a true practitioner's guide to the cloud.In this book, you will learn how toExplore cloud computing to understand its promise and challengesEnvision how cloud computing can transform your organizationEnable your organization with the necessary resources and skillsExecute the design, development, and operation of cloud workloads To the Cloud is an essential guide for IT professionals seeking to lower total cost of ownership, improve the return on IT investment of existing services, or help the business bring new products to market more quickly.
Lean Management
This book develops a new model for lean management. The intent is to demonstrate a model framework consisting of four critical components: leadership, culture, team and tools. The development of the model and these four components will be built from empirical theories reported in the research literature and in successful applications. This framework will offer a path to develop lean leaders with practical, actionable guidelines. The model framework is suited to broad applications offering practical guidelines for manufacturing and service environments alike. The lean model will develop each of these four components, explaining their relevance and importance for guiding internal lean initiatives. In developing the model, the text will chronicle the historical development of lean noting the significant lean contributions, contributors, and dates of these contributions. This development will trace contributions to the practice of lean back hundreds of years, prior to the contributions of Henry Ford and the contributors from the Toyota system in the 1950's. The future of Lean will also be examined with the current topic of sustainability and how it has extended lean concepts with an external focus towards product life cycle concerns and social issues. This offering is different from competing offerings in three fundamental ways. First, it offers and develops of a comprehensive lean model based on a sound framework. Second, it examines a comprehensive timeline of significant lean contributions and their contributors. Third, it extends lean by looking at the future applications in the area of sustainability.
Big Book of Virtual Teambuilding Games
Get remote team members to interact as if they're in the same room!Whether you're videoconferencing with team members across the world or e-mailing a colleague sitting ten feet away, the truth is evident: technology has permanently altered the way we communicate. The virtual workplace can facilitate quicker decision making and reduced overhead. But the lack of face-to-face interaction can also impede trust, innovation, and creativity among team members.The Big Book of Virtual Team-Building Games is packed with games and activities for developing productive virtual teams across all digital platforms, including e-mail, mobile devices, web-based conferencing tools, and social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and Skype.The Big Book of Virtual Team-Building Games helps you: Build a greater sense of community and reduce conflictIncrease levels of engagementGet the most out of more-introverted team membersBoost team members' productivityMake sure that the only thing separating your people is distance. The Big Book of Virtual Team-Building Games is just the tool you need to develop trusting relationships, foster clear communication, and use technology to enhance the team's connections.
Emotional Intelligence Coaching
Emotional Intelligence Coaching examines the vital role emotions and habits play in performance. Emotional intelligence can help leaders and coaches recognize how attitudes - both their own and those of the people they coach - prevent individuals from reaching their potential. Replacing these with more useful feelings and thoughts can provide a powerful means of improving performance. This book explains the principles of emotional intelligence and how these relate to coaching for performance. It includes practical activities for those seeking to identify and adapt their behaviour in order to achieve more. Never before have emotional intelligence and coaching been brought together in this way to help you develop your own and other people's performance.
101 Learning and Development Tools
101 Learning and Development Tools is your practical guide to all the most up-to-date training techniques, organized around the classic learning and development cycle. Whether you need a quick, ready solution or some guidance on where to go for in-depth information, this is your essential reference guide. It picks up from where you are in the process of managing learning, and helps you place it in a broader context. Each chapter is a mini guide to each tool with: a description of the tool analysis resources needed cost implications cross-references to help you identify alternative or related tools for further study or investigation 101 Learning and Development Tools is the indispensable, all-in-one-volume reference book for both professionals in the field and students learning about the subject.
Chief Information Officer's Body of Knowledge
Down to earth, real answers on how to manage technology--from renowned IT leaders Filled with over thirty contributions from practitioners who handle both the day-to-day and longer term challenges that Information Technology (IT) departments and their parent businesses face, this hands-on, practical IT desk reference is written in lay terms for business people and IT personnel alike. Without jargon and lofty theories, this resource will help you assist your organization in addressing project risks in a global and interconnected world. Provides guidance on how business people and IT can work together to maximize business value Insights from more than thirty leading IT experts Commonsense, rational solutions for issues such as managing outsourcing relationships and operating IT as a business Offering solutions for many of the problems CIOs face, this unique book addresses the Chief Information Officer's role in managing and running IT as a business, so the IT department may become a full strategic partner in the organization's crucial decisions.
Streamlined Process Improvement
"The Business Process Improvement methodology established by Dr. H. James Harrington and his group brings revolutionary improvement not only in quality of products and services, but also in the business processes."--Professor Yoshio KondoThe Book That Goes Beyond Six Sigma and Lean . . . The Next Evolutionary Step in Business Process Management"Don't design for Six Sigma--design for maximum performance."H. James HarringtonHow would you like to streamline your operations, lower your costs, improve your quality, and increase your profits--all at the same time?It's not an impossible dream. It's the next evolutionary breakthrough in process improvement that goes beyond Process Reengineering, TRIZ, Six Sigma, and Lean to deliver actual, quantifiable results. And now it's yours.Streamlined Process Improvement (SPI) is the powerful new program developed by H. James Harrington. After 40 years of improving processes for IBM, Ernst & Young, the Chinese government, and many other private and governmental organizations, Harrington has become the go-to leader in the field. His revolutionary guide shows you how to: Discover the latest process tools--to make faster, more dramatic improvements using the revolutionary PASIC improvement methodologyUse walk-through questionnaires and checklists--to streamline your job, resulting in optimum value to your stakeholdersUse the newest methodologies--including simulation modeling, risk analysis, Five Ss, Process Innovation, Information Technology, Lean, and Six Sigma--to take your business to the next levelIncrease innovation--to drive growth and profits for many years to comeHarrington's groundbreaking system is organized and explained step by step to help you achieve maximum results with a minimum of stress. His simple PASIC approach shows you how to Plan, Analyze, Streamline, Implement, and Continuously Improve throughout the entire process.He walks you through the basics of how to analyze each process, how to decide which to focus on first, and how to prepare for organizational change. You'll be surprised by just how quickly you can make things run more efficiently and effectively.With Harrington's proven techniques, you can sell your products and services at a lower price, satisfy your customers, make work more enjoyable for your employees, and still earn greater profits than your competitors.This powerful process guide is the definitive handbook for operations managers, quality consultants, Six Sigma practitioners, knowledge workers, and Lean thinkers for a new generation.
Master Data Management in Practice
In this book, authors Dalton Cervo and Mark Allen show you how to implement Master Data Management (MDM) within your business model to create a more quality controlled approach. Focusing on techniques that can improve data quality management, lower data maintenance costs, reduce corporate and compliance risks, and drive increased efficiency in customer data management practices, the book will guide you in successfully managing and maintaining your customer master data. You'll find the expert guidance you need, complete with tables, graphs, and charts, in planning, implementing, and managing MDM.
People’s Warrior
It is hard to believe that there was a time, not long ago, when there was no right to obtain government information, no protection against hazards in children's toys and other consumer products, no federal safety standards for motor vehicles, and no insurance to protect an investors' money and securities in brokerage accounts. These and other consumer rights were created only after fierce political battles in the decade between 1966 and 1976. People's Warrior is the untold story of that era and one of its towering leaders, Congressman John Moss. Based on previously undisclosed materials and interviews with key players of the time People's Warrior tells the story of a stormy decade in America, one in which key laws, such as the Freedom of Information Act and the Consumer Product Safety Act were enacted by Congress, despite overwhelming political opposition. It is also the improbable story of one man's life and determination. Moss fought for twelve years, against three presidents and at times his own party, for a freedom of information law that has stood the test of time and been copied around the world. Although at first stymied by special interests, he won sweeping consumer protection reforms. He went on to challenge Wall Street in an intense battle to enact major new investor protection laws. What happened to Moss and his progressive agenda in later decades, and what the future may bring for that agenda, make up the final part of this compelling story of a man and an era.
Business Improv
Workplace "drama" that's productive! The secret to business growth is right before your eyes-it's the creativity and innovation percolating in each one of your employees every minute of every day. How do you harness it to make it work for your organization? Business Improv! Based on the science of experiential learning, Business Improv uses improvisation activities from the theater to transform each employee into a great leader. The 75 hands-on activities in this proactive guide help you create an organization filled with people who: Engage with and "own" their work Generate creative ideas that drive profit Build innovative teams Solve problems effectively Make decisions with conviction Respond and adapt to change With Business Improv, you have the one and only tool you need to facilitate real, lasting leadership skills in every employee.
