Editorial Review

The key to building a superior company, an increasing number of observers now agree, is the ongoing ability to recruit and retain superior personnel. In Read more

Reviews (42)

How to Hire People Book
This book is great with ideas, checklists, and disciplines on how to take time and care in the hiring process. If anything the book tell you to slow down when hiring and and be constructive.
Do the math
There are 500 Fortune 500 firms. Do you think 450 CEOs of the Fortune 500 will recognize that they aren't "A" Players?
"OK", with reservations
"Topgrading" does have some insights, that are of some value, but keep in mind that this book is also a marketing tool for the author's services.The ideas here are not necessarily new; they're certainly not earth-shattering.The 'tool' for interviewing is most unlikely to be used by people in the real world, in HR or in the position of making a hiring decision.It is unweildy, excessivly long, and absolutely dependent on the ability of the interviewer to accurately evaluate the responses of the candidates.It is absurd to presume or assume that everyone -maybe even anyone- who reads this book will come away with that talent. I certainly would not want to make my company's growth and/or survival dependent on someone's consistent ability to accurately evaluate qualifications -and "quality"- over the course of using this 2-1/2 hour-long interview tool.
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Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business / Economics / Finance    3. Business/Economics    4. Employees    5. Human Resources & Personnel Management    6. Industrial management    7. Leadership    8. Management - Teams    9. Organization Development    10. Personnel And Human Resources Management    11. Recruiting    12. Business & Economics / Leadership   

Reviews (2)

Essential Dictionary of Real Estate
Useful book, especially when I'm stuck for an understandable definition of a real estate term. Some of the definitions are different than those given in the real estate class I'm taking. Then again, some terms have more than one definition, and both are correct. Not state-specific. This is for national.

reluctant buyer
as a first time property buyer i was getting bogged down in a lack of language skills. Nothing meant what I thought it did. The Essential Dictionary of Real Estate cleared that up for me and I was able to procede with confidence ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Building    2. Business & Economics    3. Business / Economics / Finance    4. Business/Economics    5. Dictionaries    6. Dictionaries - General    7. Real Estate - General    8. Real estate business    9. Real property    10. Reference - General    11. BUSINESS - REAL ESTATE TRD PB    12. Business & Economics / Reference   

Reviews (2)

Extremely valuable tool
"Land Development Calculations" provides an excellent and innovative strategy for working towards sustainable land use and development.The models for varying land development strategies can assist local government land use decision makers and planners as well as developers determine the carrying capacity of land within realistic thresholds.The accompanying spreadsheets for the development scenarios on the CD-ROM are extremely user friendly and do not place an undue burden on the user by requiring what may be hard to find or to collect data.All of the data required just is typical of what is necessary to make appropriate land development decisions.As a local government planner, I am working towards incorporating the information received from the models in to the zoning and development code as part of the approval process by using it to further assess suitability of the property for the purposes proposed (a zoning consideration required in accordance with the State of Georgia Zoning Procedures Act).I strongly encourage other land planners and developers to read "Land Development Calculations," because of its highly practical and very timely material.

Author Delivers Valuable Techniques and Tools
This is a terrificaly valuable technical reference for practitioners who need an efficient method of performing land development calulations. The book and its companion set of spreadsheets enable users to answer two key questions: 1) how much can be built on a given piece of land; or 2) how much land is needed to accommodate a given use? The material is clearly written and well illustrated, especially a series of worksheets leading through the method. Another strength is its comprehensiveness and detail, including all major land-use and micro site conditions. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Architecture    2. Land use    3. Mathematical models    4. Natural Resources    5. Planning    6. Public Policy - City Planning & Urban Dev.    7. Real estate development    8. Reference    9. Architectural structure & design    10. Architecture / Methods & Materials    11. Structural engineering   

Subjects:  1. Advertising & Promotion    2. Business & Economics    3. Business / Economics / Finance    4. Business/Economics    5. Marketing    6. Marketing - General    7. Nonprofit Organizations & Charities    8. Nonprofit organizations    9. Business & Economics / Marketing / General    10. Non-profitmaking organizations    11. Sales & marketing   

Reviews (9)

Very good coverage on cross-sectional, but not enough of panel data
This book does an excellent job in covering cross-sectional and microeconometric models (Stata codes for all examples in the book are available from UCLA's webside). However, the exposure to panel data is limited. For a theoretical overview of panel data econometrics, I'd recommend Hsiao and Baltagi. For applied work, Edward Frees wrote a good book, although his book is more from the social science perspective (SAS and Stata codes are provided).

The best? Not for me (and everyone I know).
Clearly this product is overrated. In my opinion the book is a complete mess, with definitions, propositions and theorems mixed with the main text and not clearly evidenced from it.
A Gem
Wooldridge's "Econometric Analysis of Cross Section and Panel Data" is a gem.As a student of applied microeconomics, I found reading his undergraduate book "Introductory Econometrics" is a great complement of reading this graduate text -- especially part I of the UG book (especially the parts of interaction terms, dummy variables); part III (panel data) might be too chatty.I think both of his books worth every penny that I paid.Although, I think Hayashi text is great, maybe it is geared toward time series econometricians.For example, Wooldridge's example of omitted variable bias is clearer to me (using wage-education regression from labor economics and compute the asymptotic inconsistency of OLS estimator with omitted variable bias), compared to Hayashi's simultaneity bias.Both are nice illustration of endogenity, but I prefer Woolridge's text. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Accounting - General    2. Asymptotic theory    3. Business & Economics    4. Business / Economics / Finance    5. Business/Economics    6. Econometrics    7. Economics - General    8. Economics - Microeconomics    9. Microeconomics    10. Business & Economics / Economics / General   

Reviews (1)

Using in my Masters of Science in Real Estate Program
This book is great for the beginner and seasoned real estate professional.If you are not strong in finance, it will obviously take you longer to understand but the material is presented in such a way that it makes sense.The CD that comes along with the book is excellent in helping you to understand the concepts.This is one of those textbooks where you do not really need a teacher, you could just teach yourself.It will make for a great reference book. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business / Economics / Finance    3. Business/Economics    4. Real Estate - General    5. Real Estate Finance    6. Business & Economics / Real Estate    7. Property & real estate   

Editorial Review

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Reviews (25)

Keep the Spirit Fishy!
Keep your experience of the Fish Philosophy fresh! This is a great companion to the original book. When you talk to folks about Playing and some of the other important parts of bringing a workplace alive, they often counter with, "What about the kind of job where you can't play. Like a hospital?" This little volume recounts tales of just such venues. Some stories are bite sized morsels, some are more substantial. They all provide nourishment!

Review of CD
The CD set is 3 hour
Insightful!
Things are going swimmingly in Fish! land. In the latest volume, Fish! Tales, authors Stephen C. Lundin, John Christensen, Harry Paul and Philip Strand build on the successful training program that evolved from their first Fish book. Tales shows how four companies - a long-distance call center; a hospital neural-renal unit, a car dealership and a roofing company - have applied Fish! theories effectively. They also provide short examples from other companies to show how well the Fish! function. The four main principles are familiar by now - keep the work fun, seek to serve others, stay focused on your customers and have an enthusiastic attitude - but the examples in the book bring them alive. Along the way, the authors heavily sell their Fish! courses and merchandise - that's just good salesmanship - but the real catch of the day is the final how-to section, showing ways to apply these principles in any organization. The lively writing style helps keep you hooked. We suggest that if you haven't yet caught any Fish!, start with this one. Its cheery, accessible methods should lure you in, hook, line and sinker. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business / Economics / Finance    3. Business/Economics    4. Careers - General    5. Customer Service    6. Customer services    7. Employee motivation    8. Human Resources & Personnel Management    9. Leadership    10. Motivation (Psychology)    11. Motivational    12. Motivational & Inspirational    13. Business & Economics / Motivational   

Reviews (6)

Inventory Accuracy in action
As a cost analyst for a mid-sized manufacturer, I found this book invaluable for setting up analyses of cycle counts, and it was THE guide for putting together a full physical count process when our parent company demanded it.It's a pleasure to read (yes, this, a book on managing inventory, is a PLEASURE to read!); Piasecki's take on what a physical count is REALLY like is priceless.He really has a complete grasp of what it means to have human beings managing inventory.See his chapter on what machines and humans each do best.

Takes a dfficult subject and make it easy to understand...
Fantastic and essential resource for those wishing to understand and implement inventory accuracy and cycle counting in their business practices.

Easy to understand.Fun, Quick Read
This book has helped me understand warehousing and inventory control.The author approaches the subject in a playful way so as to not make the book overly dry and boring.It's an easy read with some excellent tips.I would especially recommend this book to any plant managers or anyone in inventory control management.This book has become an essential desk reference item for me. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Business & Economics / Production & Operations Management    2. Business & Economics / Purchasing & Buying    3. Business/Economics    4. Inventory control    5. Business    6. Business & Economics    7. Production & Operations Management    8. Purchasing & Buying   

Reviews (4)

Academic. A text book that needs a refresher for today's issues.
Rick is first and foremost a professor, so the book follows an academic format best suited for the young student of development seeking a broad introduction to the process.Of course, the real world is more complex than any textbook could ever capture.That said, the book has become a bitdated for the contemporary developer, whose world is increasingly governed by investors, special interest groups and oft ill-informed government officials!The book delivers fundamental building blocks in a logical, sequential process.The examples cited are, as another reviewer pointed out, on average probably 14 year old analogies.Perhaps the largest ommission is an accurate portrayal of what a developer really does - assembles a diverse team of people together to share in a singular vision, then rule over this creative, temperamental team with an iron fist in velvet gloves.A chapter called 'Cat Herding' would best summarize that world.
Excellent starter book
Excellent starter book. Should be required reading for every real estate professional. Wished I'd had about 5 years ago.

ULI Guide
For its high price, you may want to seriously think about your needs.If your intention is to buy a book for a broad overview of the development process with a somewhat academic approach, then this may be right for you. If you are builder or someone with prior real estate brokerage/service experience, you may find this too ivory tower and not practical.This book was a bit theoretical for my taste.Read more

Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business / Economics / Finance    3. Business/Economics    4. Public Policy - City Planning & Urban Dev.    5. Public, Commercial, or Industrial Buildings    6. Real Estate - General   

Subjects:  1. Business & Financial    2. Business / Economics / Finance    3. Business Law    4. Business/Economics    5. Critical thinking    6. Industrial laws and legislatio    7. Industrial laws and legislation    8. Industries - General    9. Industries And Trades (Economic Aspects)    10. Law    11. Trade regulation    12. United States    13. Business & Economics / Business Law   

Reviews (2)

It shouldn't be the book for the beginnner
Unfortunately, I have class using this text book.This is one of the most horrible text book I've ever had.It's very difficult to understand, even who that already has the basic knowledge. I really have a hard time when I have to memorize all of things in this text to the exam. There's no core for me to catch.The more I read it, The more I have stress.The authors need to do homework a lot, if they want it to be easy to read.

Needlessly wordy and long winded
While O'Brien seems to really know his stuff, and the book covers a vast array of material, it's just too darn wordy. His sentence structure, and word usage are awkward. Many of the terms he uses are NEEDLESSLY large and difficult to understand. He uses terms like 'tactical planning', 'proactive and interactive', and the like with out even explaining what he means. Many of his sentences have fillers and are full of redundancies.
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Subjects:  1. Business / Economics / Finance    2. Computer Books: General    3. Computers    4. Information Management    5. Management Information Systems    6. Business information systems    7. Computers / Management Information Systems   

Reviews (17)

Tools for creating a Learning Culture
Peter M Serge, The Fifth Discipline Fieldbook
enlightening concepts about leadership
It seems to me that The Fifth Discipline (the previous publication of the series) is more attacting to me. The second book can be more precise and concise in content. Generally speaking I still like these two books as a foreign reader.

The Fifth Discipline
This book is a collection of theoretical summaries, reports, analyses, and strategies all quite useful to anyone interested in generating some thinking and action around change. The team of five writers (Peter Senge, Richard Ross, Bryan Smith, Charlotte Roberts, and Art Kleiner) provide some original work, but also serve as editors to a vast quantity of material drawn from practitioners, theorists, and writers in the field of organizational improvement. According to Senge, "great teams are learning organizations - groups of people who, over time, enhance their capacity to create what they truly desire to create." (p.18) This book is really about creating and building great teams. The learning organization develops its ability to reflect on, discuss, question, and change its current and past practices. To do this, people and groups in the organization need to meaningfully pursue the study and practice of the five disciplines - personal mastery, mental models, shared vision, team learning, and systems thinking. Read more

Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business / Economics / Finance    3. Business/Economics    4. Fifth discipline    5. Handbooks, manuals, etc    6. Human Resources & Personnel Management    7. Leadership    8. Management    9. Organization Development    10. Organizational Behavior    11. Organizational effectiveness    12. Senge, Peter M    13. Teams in the workplace    14. Training    15. Business & Economics / Leadership    16. Organizational theory & behaviour   

Reviews (20)

Excellent !!
In order to complete any jigsaw puzzle, you normally need to refer to the picture on the box.
Excellent hands on service development model solutions for SOA!
Excellent hands on service development model solutions for SOA!
Explaining the Basic Concepts
A surprising amount of the spending for information technology in virtually all organizations is spent on supporting, updating, integrating, or otherwise maintaining legacy systems. SOA is an attempt to define a generalized group of services oriented 'objects' (for lack of a better term) that have a well defined interface and output that is oriented to provide a business orjective.
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Subjects:  1. Accounting - General    2. Business & Economics    3. Business / Economics / Finance    4. Business enterprises    5. Business/Economics    6. Computer Architecture    7. Computer Architecture - General    8. Computer network architectures    9. Computer networks    10. Information Management    11. Information Processing (Information Science)    12. Information technology    13. Knowledge Capital    14. Management    15. Management Information Systems    16. Business & Economics / Accounting / General    17. Computer architecture & logic design    18. Customer services   

Reviews (1)

Good for MBA class
Overall I liked the book. But there are some goofy computer graphics and sideline stories that take up room and distract the reader. The definitions need to be in the side margins. The book is written well with a lot of examples. It was very expensive and has a lot of color through out it and the cover. I used the optional software PT3 that allows the students to do the homework online. It is good for the students-but there are some formatting errors and the hints are useless. I got an A in the class so I am not complaining. I would reccomend it for upper level students only. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Accounting - Managerial    2. Business & Economics    3. Business / Economics / Finance    4. Business/Economics    5. Management - General    6. Managerial accounting    7. Business & Economics / Management    8. Management accounting   

Reviews (1)

Great Book on Accounting
Very good book on Accounting 101. It does cover most of the basic topics of Accounting and has lots of examples.
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Subjects:  1. Accounting    2. Accounting - General    3. Business & Economics    4. Business / Economics / Finance    5. Business/Economics    6. Business & Economics / Accounting / General   

Reviews (1)

Good book for real estate practitioners and lay investors who are interested in REITs
This book is the most authoritative analysis and synthesis of modern scholarly research on different complicated issues surrounding REITs. No currently available books can examine this investment vehicle as comprehensive and organised as this one.
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Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business / Economics / Finance    3. Business/Economics    4. Finance    5. Real Estate - General    6. Real Estate - Investments    7. Real Estate Investment    8. Real estate investment trusts    9. Business & Economics / Real Estate    10. Finance | Investments    11. Investment & securities    12. Property & real estate   

Subjects:  1. Accounting - General    2. CPA (Certified Public Accountant)    3. Cpa Reviews And Exam Guides    4. Study Aids    5. Study Guides    6. Test Prep    7. Accounting    8. Study Aids / CPA (Certified Public Accountant)    9. Study guides, home study & revision notes   

Reviews (27)

A great instructional book!
This book is well worth the time to read. I have completed a credentialed training course, and found that this book really helped drive the concepts home, so that they are in my "being" as a coach. It is detailed and thorough, really explaining the purpose behind certain concepts that just weren't explained in my coach training. I have noticed a change in my coaching style already. I am very thankful to have read this book and highly recommend it to those who are looking for a comprehensive examination of the basics of coaching.

No nonsense review by professional coach who uses this approach
I am a professional coach who has been using these principles in my practice for a number of years. Initially, I thought some of them were somewhat questionable, but over time, I have found this to be the most powerful and simple methodology available. It is to learn and apply.
Co-Active Coaching
Co-Active Coaching was a terrific book for "detailed knowledge" of coaching principles.It gave a brief synopsis of coaching concepts for the first few chapters; and then used the following chapters to explain in much more detail the major elements involved in coaching people. It simplified coaching into five very critical elements and explained really well how each element worked to make the reader a better coach. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Applied Psychology    2. Business / Economics / Finance    3. Management - General    4. Mentoring    5. Motivation (Psychology)    6. Psychological aspects    7. Psychology    8. Psychotherapy - Counseling    9. Self-actualization (Psychology    10. Self-actualization (Psychology)    11. Success    12. Business & Economics / General    13. Counselling    14. Personnel & human resources management   

Editorial Review

Since 1987, Starbucks's star has been on the rise, growing from 11 Seattle, WA-based stores to more than 1,000 worldwide. Its goals grew, too, from the more modest, albeit fundamental one of offering high-quality coffee beans roasted to perfection to, more recently, opening a new store Read more

Reviews (105)

Marketing Master, yes. Quality Coffee roaster.....Now he's full of ____!
Being a specialty roaster since 1975 and being part of a local specialty roaster group. I can tell you that starbuck's main accomplishment is their marketing ability. The coffee they distribute is garbage, and this doesn't have to come from my mouth, it comes from people who come to me after tasting their supposed "specialty coffee."Starbucks lost their specialty status the moment you could find them on every street corner and/or supermarket. Where they beat most is their non stop advertising and brainwashing of people. The reason starbucks got big was because there was noone around to fill that demand, or more importantly, due to the nature of the specialty market, noone who wanted to fill that position.The amount of coffee they are forced to produce lead to only one scenario, inferior quality.Concepts of mass production. Economics 101. The higher the demand, the less likely quality is to have influence.

How Starbucks changed the World
What a great read! This is a story of how Starbucks changed the world. Howard Schultz, the CEO, tells the history of Starbucks starting with its founding in 1971 up until 1999. Schultz tells how he came on board,later bought the company and its sky-roacketing growth.
One of the Greatest Models of Superior Business that Cares About People
This is a FANTASTIC book about passion behind business, dealing with major growth, serving the customer, helping people from the heart, actually caring about the consumer, and caring about humanity at the same time.
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Subjects:  1. Biography / Autobiography    2. Business    3. Business & Economics    4. Business/Economics    5. Corporate & Business History - General    6. Corporate & Business History - Strategies    7. History    8. Industries - Hospitality, Travel & Tourism    9. Restaurants    10. Restaurateurs    11. Schultz, Howard    12. Starbucks Coffee Company    13. United States    14. Business & Economics / Corporate History    15. Business & Management    16. Food manufacturing & related industries   

Reviews (9)

Culinary Arts.
One of the many neat features of studying at Cornell University is that, even if you're not enrolled in its famous School of Hotel Administration, you can attend one of the cooking and wine tasting classes organized especially for non-Hotel School students, and get at least a flavor of the five star culinary instruction provided by the chefs teaching at that school. (That is, you can do so if you're willing to get up an extra hour or two early on the morning of non-Hotel School student enrollment, and if you're lucky enough to beat the crowds or at least slip in as a substitute participant.) In addition to numerous recipes and pieces of valuable advice, information and memories -- particularly of the last night, on which we had to put together a four-course meal, fine dining style, complete with menu, garnishments and perfectly laid table -- Cornell's "cooking class" has enriched my kitchen by two items I have since found it very hard to do without: A professional grade chef's knife, and Sarah Labensky's and Alan Hause's "On Cooking," which we used as our textbook.