Average customer rating:
- Great condish but no quick ship
- Great book : Easy to follow and practical
- Its in my top 2 textbooks for Economics Undergraduate
- Modern Industrial Organization
- easy book and good guide to understand the industry
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Modern Industrial Organization (4th Edition) (Addison-Wesley Series in Economics)
Dennis W. Carlton , and
Jeffrey M. Perloff
Manufacturer: Addison Wesley
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ASIN: 0321180232 |
Customer Reviews:
Great condish but no quick ship.......2005-09-30
See above. Took longer to arrive than I would have liked. Maybe 2 weeks.
Great book : Easy to follow and practical.......2005-01-27
I have the 2000 edition, I like it very much. Practical, easy to follow, great use of Theory of Games exemples.
Douglas Gilson, Management professor.Rio de janeiro, Brasil
Its in my top 2 textbooks for Economics Undergraduate.......2004-12-22
I've only used 9 textbooks in my undergraduate carrer in Economics, however, this book would probably fit either as the best or 2nd best... I can't really determine which deserves the "coveted" "best" slot.
To say firstly, this book passes the "I havn't attended class for the last 4 weeks and only have read the book, but still recieved an A- for the midterm" test. I think I can say in full confidence that IO is pretty much a standard course and this pretty much covers all the standard topics that any IO course would cover in one semester.
I used this book for a more "advanced" IO course (there are 2 in my university) and I used the book almost exclusively in preperation for my exams. I can say that the books appendices are excellent, despite th previous comment. It displays the material very concisely and in a very formal manner. The presentation in the appendices is not laconic and is very understandable.... I would have to say it achieves almost maximum effeciency with relevent material per page.
Actaully, for my case, the appendices were very much more useful then the actaul text itself. The level of mathematics does not exceed a standard non-formal multi-variable calculus level and is thus very accesible. With regards to applicability of the material, I found no problems in figuring out how the forumale applied with respect to the theory for the most part... However, I suspect if it is obtuse (for the level of maturity in the class) then the instructor would augment the text with problem sets and excercises.
The book starts off with a brief recap of the relevnt micro concepts and tools in the first chapter or so, then goes on to cover topics such as monopoly, oligopoly, monopolistic competition, games in oligopolies (Bertrand, Stakelberg Cournout-Nash etc.). Then it goes on to less "theoretical" (at least in my opinion) topics such as advertising and its effects, price discrimination (1st degree, 3rd degree, bundling strategies etc.).
Overall there is a good mix of "real world" applications and core theory. I never read the numerous examples and unless the class specifically tests on these, I would think they are not needed for understanding of the material. The exposition found in the chapters (less the examples) are usually superb, although a bit wordy for my taste.
There are some problems asked after the end of each chapter, although very few of these employ much mathematics and hence, does not, in my opinion, work well as a gauge of understanding. It seems because of the length of the book, it lends itself off to the instructor to decide how to taylor his curriculum, I don't believe that any chapters are redundent, but I believe all chapters are essentially self contained (given that the reader had read or is competent in the material up to the 6th chapter).
All in all, I was happy with this book and believe it to be of superior stock, although this is pure conjecture on my part since I've only used this book and have only taken one IO course. With respect to flexibility the book deserves good marks and this is likewise true with respect to the exposition in the text.
Modern Industrial Organization.......2003-05-01
I was hoping to get a more indept explaination with example problems. Formulas were shown, but the author never really showed how to utilize the formulas. I have had to reference other books to try to understand this book.
easy book and good guide to understand the industry.......2000-08-24
For me this book is a very good guide to the people that like to learn more about the way that the industry and the market works and the link to many things that you can see all the time around you and could explain by the economic theory, things that happend not only in United States also in different countries like Chile. Only bad thing about the book is the colors in the graphs, maybe the next time could include more colors. And if is possible try to translate the book to another language like spanish, because about this topic in spanish is very poor the number of books, and the translation could bring the opportunity to more people to read about this.
Book Description
This textbook brings modern I/O analysis to the undergraduate level. Consistent with modern analysis, the authors focus explicitly on the nature of strategic interaction and make extensive use of game theoretic tools. At the same time, they never lose sight of the policy motivation behind much IO analysis. Formal analysis is combined with many practical applications, and the presentation does not assume familiarity with calculus, rather it relies on the ability to work through algebraic equations.
Customer Reviews:
Not very clear.......2007-08-10
I had a very hard time following what's going on because the language is not very clear and too verbose. The book focuses on the beauty of language rather than how to express the ideas in a clear and understandable manner. Makes simple stuff a lot harder than it should. Translating equations into words is sometimes confusing, and the concepts are too ideal that they can hardly apply to the real world situations.
do not touch.......2006-12-26
the book is filled with typo. Given that this is third edition, the author doesn't seem to pay much attention to the hw. I was a TA for this class, and it took me some times to figure out what i did wrong because the hw questions are wrong. The theories in this book can only be applied in the context of the book's examples; some of these theories are not general and can't be applied in a broad sense.
Induvitably excellent book!.......2003-11-04
Above all, it enraptured me with its practical orientation,
which really builds the economic sense at the reader. Numerous, straight superior and often also heartbreaking examples make theory well comprehensible. There doesn't lack nor more complex mathematical assecession for more serious study. 1A
Induvitably excellent book!.......2003-11-04
Above all, it enraptured me with its practical orientation,
which really builds the economic sense at the reader. Numerous, straight superior and often also heartbreaking examples make theory well comprehensible. There doesn't lack nor more complex mathematical assecession for more serious study. 1A
Book Description
How have Japanese companies become world leaders in the automotive and electronics industries, among others? What is the secret of their success? Two leading Japanese business experts, Ikujiro Nonaka and Hirotaka Takeuchi, are the first to tie the success of Japanese companies to their ability to create new knowledge and use it to produce successful products and technologies. In The Knowledge-Creating Company, Nonaka and Takeuchi provide an inside look at how Japanese companies go about creating this new knowledge organizationally. The authors point out that there are two types of knowledge: explicit knowledge, contained in manuals and procedures, and tacit knowledge, learned only by experience, and communicated only indirectly, through metaphor and analogy. U.S. managers focus on explicit knowledge. The Japanese, on the other hand, focus on tacit knowledge. And this, the authors argue, is the key to their success--the Japanese have learned how to transform tacit into explicit knowledge. To explain how this is done--and illuminate Japanese business practices as they do so--the authors range from Greek philosophy to Zen Buddhism, from classical economists to modern management gurus, illustrating the theory of organizational knowledge creation with case studies drawn from such firms as Honda, Canon, Matsushita, NEC, Nissan, 3M, GE, and even the U.S. Marines. For instance, using Matsushita's development of the Home Bakery (the world's first fully automated bread-baking machine for home use), they show how tacit knowledge can be converted to explicit knowledge: when the designers couldn't perfect the dough kneading mechanism, a software programmer apprenticed herself with the master baker at Osaka International Hotel, gained a tacit understanding of kneading, and then conveyed this information to the engineers. In addition, the authors show that, to create knowledge, the best management style is neither top-down nor bottom-up, but rather what they call "middle-up-down," in which the middle managers form a bridge between the ideals of top management and the chaotic realities of the frontline. As we make the turn into the 21st century, a new society is emerging. Peter Drucker calls it the "knowledge society," one that is drastically different from the "industrial society," and one in which acquiring and applying knowledge will become key competitive factors. Nonaka and Takeuchi go a step further, arguing that creating knowledge will become the key to sustaining a competitive advantage in the future. Because the competitive environment and customer preferences changes constantly, knowledge perishes quickly. With The Knowledge-Creating Company, managers have at their fingertips years of insight from Japanese firms that reveal how to create knowledge continuously, and how to exploit it to make successful new products, services, and systems.
Download Description
Manufacturers around the world have learned much from Japanese manufacturing techniques. However, any company that wants to compete on knowledge must also learn from Japanese techniques of knowledge-creation. Managers at Japan's most successful companies recognize that creating knowledge is not simply a matter of processing objective information. Rather, it depends on tapping the tacit and often highly subjective insights, intuitions, and ideals of employees.
Customer Reviews:
Not even worth one star.......2005-11-21
I was very disappointed by this book. Not only was it painful to read, because it dragged on and was full of academic nonsense, the authors views were also unconvincing and based on old research.
This book is outdated and not relevant to the way Japan is today. The authors use a lot of research and examples from the 80s and even the 70s. They make the claim that Japanese firms experienced a lot of success in the late 70s and 80s because of their superior ability to "create knowledge." They seem to be in complete denial that Japan's economic bubble had anything to do with this "success" that they are talking about. Also, the book was written over 10 years ago, before the financial crisis and before people realized that a lot of this so-called success was just cooked in the books by accountants.
They do give some reasonable examples of knowledge creating firms that are successful, but that's all they are, just a few examples and not an accurate representation of the whole picture of Japanese Management. Also, most of the examples are of Japanese manufacturing firms. What about the service sector? Suspiciously they did not use examples of companies from Japan's service sector, which are extremely inefficient and not the text book perfect examples of successful "knowledge creating" firms.
The theories and models in this book are a bunch of overly abstract vague pretentious academic nonsense. The real life examples are so nebulously related to the theories and models that most successful (or unsuccessful) companies can be used as examples.
If you want to read a bunch of nonsense based on old research with the names of Harvard professors and some philosophy thrown in to make the nonsense seem legit and intelligent, then by all means, read this book. But if you are like me and want to learn about Japanese management, don't waste your time or money on this book.
BEWARE! Digital version is only a 10 page summary!.......2004-03-16
Don't get caught like I did.
From information-processing machine to knowledge-creating co.......2002-08-28
This book is the classic in the organizational learning approach. But it¡¯s more than that. This book is not about lean production or Japanese kaizen system, but about how to enhance a firm¡¯s adaptability to turbulent environment through knowledge creation. with suggesting new concept of knowledge-creation as the tangible base of organizational capabilities or innovation, this book serves as the bridge between organizational learning school and resource-capabilities view.
As the being to survive in environment, the firm processes signals or information from environment. Knowledge is the framework to process info to interpret the state of environment. Up to 1980s, the company was viewed as information-processing machine. Indeed, firm is the flow of information. That kind of view has been justified against the business reality. Actually, it¡¯s the very picture of bureaucratic organization which culminated in GM¡¯s M-form model. Here, CEO like Jack Welch is the hero. Such an organization is effective when the environment is stable and predictable. But since 1970s, things have changed. Uncertainties have been amplified with the hypercompetition on global scale. Now the framework to interpret the signal from environment, itself should incessantly and systemically be adapted to turbulent reality. Knowledge and innovation have come the words of the day. Not surprisingly, there has been growing dissatisfaction with traditional organizational structure. Kao¡¯s CEO, Maruta put it in this way: ¡®The intelligence of a firm does not come from the president nor top management. That must come from the gathering of all knowledge of all members.¡¯ This book is about to how to build organization as the effective innovation site. To do so, all the available knowledge in and out of company should be able to be mobilized and freely flow throughout the firm. For instance, front line employees are constantly in direct touch with the outside world. They can obtain access to the up-to-date info on the market, technology, or competitors. But their knowledge is, in most cases, not able to be expressed in explicit way. Generally, it¡¯s the tacit knowledge. But to survive more and more intensified competition, the firm should be apt to mobilizing their tacit knowledge. To achieve such a goal, task force or bottom-up organizational model emerged. In those model, the creative knowledge worker, in Peter Drucker¡¯s term, is the hero. But in those models, knowledge tends to be confined to narrow front line, and comes and goes with creative employees. And worse, the firm can¡¯t react as an efficient unit to threats from environment. As a result, innovation is the haphazard event. So there should be some integrating mechanism like hierarchy. To be efficient unit, knowledge should flow all over the company. Here, authors rediscover the significance of middle managers. They play the role of midwife and amplifier of knowledge from front line employees and between various divisions in the firm. They coordinate the flow of knowledge and maintain the firm as a coherent knowledge-creating unit. In short, the firm should be organized as the melting pot of member¡¯s knowledge. Authors take examples from Japanese firms to illustrate what¡¯s like such a site.
A look at knowledge creation.......2001-11-26
I came to this book through a reference in Novak & Gowin. What caught my eye was that someone was willing to talk about an epistemological stance other than the analytic, reductionist view held in science. For the most part, I found this book's understanding of Western epistemology to be reasonable; I can't speak for the Japanese epsitemology cited. What interested me, and for which I recommend the book, is their view of knowledge creation. The case studies lend weight to their view, but they do explicate a possible model for turning subjective knowledge into explicit knowledge. They suggest a management model for making it happen. The book is very well written and edited.
I believe the book needs a very careful read *outside* the business community. I would put this book down as the business version of Feynman's *The Character of Natural Law*.
An essential book on knowledge management.......2001-09-28
This is perhaps one of the most important books presently available on knowledge management. The authors demonstrate how 'knowledge' is vital to innovation within Japanese firms, with clear distinction made between 'tacit' and explicit' knowledge. An effort is made to distinguish the differences between Japanese and Western firms through an emphasis on the importance of 'tacit' knowledge and a 'middle-up-down' management process. Other than Chapter 2 (a review of philosophical background relating to epistemology which might put some readers off), this book has minimal jargons and complexities and would be an easy and enjoyable read even for non-academics. The arguments presented by the authors are well-illustrated with relevant industrial examples. Overall, this is a book that not only brings a new perspective to knowledge management but also raises questions for the ardent researchers who might ponder over its relevance to non-Japanese firms.
Book Description
Create a nonprofit in your state without a lawyer!
The process of becoming a tax-exempt organization may appear intimidating, but with How to Form a Nonprofit Corporation, you can do it quickly, easily and with confidence.
This bestselling book includes complete instructions for obtaining federal 501(c)(3) tax exemption and for qualifying for public charity status with the IRS. It will help you
*complete an IRS tax-exemption application
*prepare articles of incorporation
*write the bylaws of your nonprofit
*fill in minutes of the organizational meeting
*understand your state & specific nonprofit requirements
The 7th edition is completely updated to provide the latest federal and state rules. It also provides the latest forms you need, including the new IRS Form 1023, Application for Recognition of Exemption Under Section 501(3)(c).
What are you waiting for? Incorporate your nonprofit without a lawyer and save the money for your worthy cause!
Customer Reviews:
Very helpful for starting a new non-profit.......2007-06-09
Really helped a client of mine in starting up a new non-profit. Clear instructions, lots of advice and online help.
Great book for Starting a Non/not for profit.......2007-05-12
This is a great book!! He tracks the langauges of the required statutes and it has everything you need!! It is "The Bible" of how to books for starting a Non-profit. The only draw back is that it does not give a lot of advice for starting a church. However, that does not diminish its potency.
TOPS!.......2007-01-06
After reading this book, I found it to contain everything I was hoping for. I don't feel I'll have any trouble now in starting my corporation. Thanks for such a well written educational tool.
A Wonderful Resource.......2006-11-06
This book's title says it all. It gives you the nuts and bolts of how to form a nonprofit corporation. The CD includes many useful documents including the federal tax forms and sample bylaws. If you are planning to found a nonprofit, this step-by-step guide is just what you need.
Setting up a Non-Profit is Easy.......2006-11-05
Book was very valuable in setting up a non profit for selling fair trade Honduran coffee in the US. Guided me through all the initial steps of setting up a board and application for tax free status (in progress).
Book Description
One of the key determinants of success for today’s high-technology companies is product strategy—and this guide continues to be the only book on product strategy written specifically for the 21st century high-tech industry. More than 250 examples from technological leaders including IBM, Compaq, and Apple—plus a new focus on growth strategies and on Internet businesses—define how high-tech companies can use product strategy and product platform strategy for competitiveness, profitability, and growth in the Internet age.
Customer Reviews:
very good - lots of examples.......2007-01-19
the Core Strategic Vision approach for determining strategy is interesting, and is a good framework to develop a realistic vision.
The boundaries test to determine whether your vision will deliver what you expect (it forces you to expect something!) is something companies can't forget.
And the vision of a set of product's as not only one offering, but as one containing a platform and its pre-planned offerings, with pricing strategy, is essential to get profits for a long time.
It is full with examples, specially from the software arena. Recommended.
Comprehensive coverage.......2006-03-12
This book offers a study of the strategic options for high tech firms. The coverage is wide and detailed. This is a great book.
A first approach to Product Strategy.......2006-01-31
A big number of business examples, and good explanation of concepts. A deeper vision could be found in another books about this subject, so in my oppinion this book could be a good starting point, not recomended for advanced IT product managers.
targeted for core products at large companies.......2004-05-22
I love this book: the concept of a "vector" for product
development is a terrific way to think about competition.
IMHO, this book is a must-read for all product managers,
product marketers and people involved in strategic decisions,
i.e. all senior executives.
That said, speaking as a five-time startup engineer, the advice
and examples in this book seem geared towards the core product
lines in larger companies, where you can credibly talk about
"two years from now" as opposed to wondering if you'll even be
in business, which is also the problem for new product lines at
large companies. The experience for the book comes from the
PRTM consulting firm, which was made famous for their work with
parallel product development at Intel. We hired them in the
early days at Inktomi, and found mixed success with their
process because we were terrified of immediate failure, and
they wanted to talk about version 3. Obviously, there's a
successful middle ground because Inktomi was a huge success in
the short term, but ultimately lost its strategic direction.
watch out cost to implement in ur office before do it.......2003-12-05
For example, author addressed the benefits to have a product platform strategy are focusing managemnet on key decision at the right time;enabling products to be deployed rapidly and consistently; encouraging a longer-term view of product strategy; leveraging significant operational efficiencies; helping management anticipate replacing a major product platform.
However, he may forget to remind readers that these require cost before enjoying the benefits, such as you need to hire a new tier of middle management if you company is too small to afford before; to establish the new channel capabilities to justify the investment on the platform bcz to access new markets; the IT system to calculate operation efficiencies such as engineering head count, material cost, and supply chain cost is also not cheap if you only have the option to use turn-key solution.....
It may be reasonable to equip product platform strategy only when benefits are greater than costs.
Book Description
Most organizations consist of multiple business and support units, each populated by highly trained, experienced executives. But often the efforts of individual units are not coordinated, resulting in conflicts, lost opportunities, and diminished performance
Robert S. Kaplan and David P. Norton argue that the responsibility for this critical alignment lies with corporate headquarters. In this book, the authors apply their revolutionary Balanced Scorecard management system to corporate-level strategy, revealing how highly successful enterprises achieve powerful synergies by explicitly defining corporate headquarters’ role in setting, coordinating, and overseeing organizational strategy.
Based on extensive field research in organizations worldwide, Alignment shows how companies can build an enterprise-level Strategy Map and Balanced Scorecard that clearly articulate the “enterprise value proposition”: how the enterprise creates value above that achieved by individual business units operating alone. The book provides case studies, actionable frameworks, and sample scorecards that show how to align business and support units, boards of directors, and external partners with the corporate strategy and create a governance process that will ensure that alignment is sustained.
The next breakthrough in strategy execution from the field’s premier thinkers, Alignment shows how today’s companies can unlock unrealized value from enterprise synergies.
Customer Reviews:
Book review.......2006-06-26
I ordered this for my boss. He said it gave him some direction for a project he is working on.
Their most important book thus far...........2006-06-07
After their article "The Balanced Scorecard - Measures That Drive Performance" appeared in Harvard Business Review" (January-February, 1992), Kaplan and Norton co-authored four books in which they expand and fine-tune several of their core concepts about the Balanced Scorecard. What we have in this volume is a brilliant analysis of how to use the Balanced Scorecard to create corporate synergies. As they observe in the Preface, they have identified five key principles "for aligning an organization's management and measurement systems to strategy":
1. Mobilize change through executive leadership.
2. Translate strategy into operational terms.
3. Align the organization to the strategy.
4. Motivate to make strategy everyone's job.
5. Govern to make strategy a continual process.
When gathering the information needed to write this book, Kaplan and Norton rigorously examined more than 30 organizations which include Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi, Citizens Schools, Hilton, IBM, Lockheed Martin, Media General, and the U.S. Army. Note how different these organizations are in terms of their respective products and services, markets, and potentialities for aligning their management processes and systems to the given strategy. I assume that the diversity of the exemplary enterprises during Kaplan and Norton's selection process was deliberate because they are convinced - as am I - that if the core principles of the Balanced Scorecard are applied effectively, any organization (regardless of its size or nature) can create highly beneficial synergies by getting its management and measurement in proper alignment with its strategy. In this book, Kaplan and Norton explain how to do that. Obviously, it is difficult to achieve such alignment and even more difficult to sustain it. Although a cliché, it remains true that change is the only constant. Moreover, change seems to occur much more rapidly now than ever before. What is in proper alignment today may not be tomorrow...or by the end of today
Nothing within an organization's structure can be in proper balance unless and until it is in proper alignment. Hence the importance of prioritization and, especially, of proportionality (e.g. allocation of resources). Here is a brief excerpt from Chapter 10. "The Balanced Scorecard, since its introduction in 1992, has evolved into the centerpiece of a sophisticated system to manage the execution of strategy. The effectiveness of the approach is derived from two simple capabilities: (1) the ability to clearly describe strategy (the contribution of Strategy Maps) and (2) the ability to link strategy to the management system (the contribution of Balanced Scorecards). The net result is the ability to align all units, processes, and systems of an organization to its strategy." With this brief statement, Kaplan and Norton suggest the interdependence of strategy, alignment, and executive leadership.
In my opinion, this is the most important book written thus far by Kaplan and Norton. In it, they develop in much greater detail many of the same concepts they examined in previous books but they also share what they have learned over the years about devising, implementing, and then sustaining (while fine-tuning) the "sophisticated system" to which they refer in the excerpt just provided. Their collaborative thinking, as is also true of every organization they discuss, continues to be "a work in progress."
A repeat of the other two books - little help for those who need alignment.......2006-05-11
If you are a CIO, Head of HR, or other so called "support" function looking for help on how to align with the business, this is not the book for you.
My suggestion is to skip this book, or if you must check it out of the library or buy it used. The book you want is Kaplan and Norton's first book called "The Balanced Scorecard" which is very good and is just repeated in this book. Next I would purchase the HBR article on Strategy Maps (September 2000). Those two works cover all of what is in this book and they have a stronger implementation flavor.
Alignment is a persistent issue facing every organization and operating unit with the organization. This book does not provide the practical or actionable advice needed to give business leaders the tools and techniques need to make progress in this critical area.
If you want to know why please read on.
Kaplan and Norton are the undisputed masters of issues related to scorecards and their ideas in that area are used by leading organizations everywhere with great success. Unfortunately as they have tried to expand beyond scorecards there work in this area (this book and The Strategy-Focused Organization) have not come near the mark in my opinion.
Alignment is a critical issue in today's dynamic and changing environment. Unfortunately the authors approach alignment in a very simplistic way: create a strategy map, then create a scorecard and you will get alignment. Sorry but just using these two tools do not cut it to handle such a tough issue and this book shows it.
Like "The Strategy Focused Organization" Kaplan and Norton seek to use case studies to help illustrate their points. For that they are to be commended. However, the case studies they use are very shallow, read more like corporate press releases and product testimonials. That is a shame and a real weakness of this book as Alignment is a complex issue and simply saying 'we sat down created a Balanced Score Card and a Strategy Map and we were aligned' does not address the issues nor provide insight for the reader.
The reason for such a low score on this book is the lack of help it provides the people who most are in need of alignment CIOs, HR and to some extent finance. Kaplan and Norton dedicate Chapter 5 to "Aligning support functions" and right away you know the mindset they are applying.
For K and N, alignment is a process of completing their deliverables and they treat IT, HR, Finance and any other support function as "staffed with expert specialists whose culture is quite different from that of managers in line operating units. Consequently, support groups frequently become isolated from the line organization ... executives of business units accuse them of living in HQ based silos and being incapable of responding to local operating needs." (Page 120)
Their solution for IT, HR and Finance alignment puts these organizations back into the 1960's as they advise these functions to read the business strategy map and scorecard and then create your own - separate but not equal - scorecard based on the services you can provide. That works if all you want IT and HR to do is provide basic services, but if you want to gain competitive advantage, or if you are a CIO, HR or CFO who wants to link into and align with the business this approach puts you at arms length and something apart.
Kaplan and Norton should know better and more importantly I have to believe that there are case studies that do not treat IT, HR and Finance as support functions but integral parts of the business strategy. The fact that they could not find these cases where there is one strategy map that the whole company could align around, give the impression that they are looking at the issue of alignment with the wrong lens.
Focus and Coordinate Your Organization's Energies for Better Strategic Execution.......2006-04-26
Alignment is a superb addition to the remarkable series written by Professor Robert S. Kaplan and Dr. David P. Norton. If you have not yet read Strategy Maps, The Balanced Scorecard and The Strategy-Focused Organization, you should begin with those books before reading this one. With each book in the series, you'll find out more about how to create and use balanced scorecards . . . and your organization will prosper because of it.
Leaders have always found it much easier to formulate strategy than to turn strategies into accomplishments. As the authors note, many such organizations are like an uncoordinated 8-person rowing shell than a championship team.
In studies of the Balanced Scorecard Hall of Fame organizations, the authors learned that organizational alignment is a more important factor than mobilization, strategic translation, employee motivation and governance in achieving superior results during execution.
The authors identify eight essential check points for successful organizational alignment:
1. An enterprise value proposition (to lead strategic guidelines)
2. Board and shareholder alignment (to approve, review and monitor strategy)
3. Coordination between the corporate offices and the corporate support units (by creating corporate policies)
4. Coordination between the corporate office and the business units (business unit strategy matching the corporate direction)
5. Coordination between the business units and the support units (to create appropriate functional strategies)
6. Alignment between business units and their customers (an on-going to and fro)
7. Alignment among business support teams and their suppliers and external partners (to share problems and solutions)
8. Company support coordination (among the corporate support people and the business support activities)
To get a sense of the whole process, be sure to turn to figure 9-1.
The great strength of the book comes, however, in its many examples and case studies involving organizations like Aktira, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi, Citizen Schools, City of Brisbane, DuPont Engineering Polymers, Handleman, Hilton Hotels, IBM Leasing, Ingersoll Rand, KeyCorp, Lockheed Martin Enterprise Information Systems, Marriott Vacation Club, MDS, Metalcraft (disguised name), Media General, New Profit Inc., Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Salmon recovery in Washington State, Sport-Man, Inc. Tiger Textiles (disguised name), and the U.S. Army.
Bravo!
Don't miss this book.
Translate, cascade and align your strategies.......2006-03-24
This book is about organizational alignment. It is the fourth in a series of thought-leading books on how to translate strategy into actions - via balanced scorecard, strategy maps, and the strategy-focused organization.
The authors start with a wonderful story:
Imagine an eight-person shell racing up the river populated by highly trained rowers, but each with different ideas of how to achieve success. But rowing at different speeds and in different directions could cause the shell to travel in circles and perhaps capsize. The winning team invariably rows in beautiful synchronism; each rower strokes powerfully but consistently with all the others, guided by a coxswain [corporate center], who has the responsibility for pacing and steering the course of action.
Unfortunately, many firms are like an uncoordinated shell. They consist of strong business units, each populated by highly trained, experienced and motivated executives. But the efforts of the individual businesses are not coordinated.
Unsurprisingly, the authors suggest that their four scorecard perspectives on financials, customers, processes, as well as growth/learning also could be used to create organizational alignment and also find synergies, e.g.
- FINANCIAL: acquiring and integrating other firms, monitoring and governance processes, skills in negotiating with external entities (capital providers, etc.)
- CUSTOMERS: leverage common customers (cross-sales), corporate brand, common customer value propositions across the world,
- PROCESSES: exploiting core competencies in product or production technologies, sourcing or distribution skills, etc.
- LEARNING AND GROWTH: Enhancing human capital thru excellent HR practices, leveraging a common technology, sharing best-practices and knowledge.
The book does not only focus on how to align the corporate-level and businesses, it also covers how to align towards support functions (finance, IT and HR), external business partners (customers, suppliers) and even the board.
Don't buy this book as your first on scorecards. It requires that you have read some of the previous published articles or books by the author team. However, if you are a balanced scorecard practitioner, then this book adds yet another dimension to our understanding of how to make scorecard systems work in an organization.
Being a corporate strategist, I can use most of this thinking in my day-to-day work - and I can highly recommend it to all other scorecard insiders.
If you're interested in Balanced Scorecard, you should obviously read the core by Kaplan and Norton - especially the "Strategy-Focused Organization". But I also recommend a very capable book by the Swedes Olve et al (2003) - "Making Scorecards Actionable: Balancing Strategy and Control" - that even includes some thinking on why balanced scorecards go wrong - and what to do about it. Paul Niven (2005) does the same in his "Balanced scorecard diagnostics".
If you're even more interested in performance measurement systems, then do also consider "Performance Prism" by Neely et al (2002) that takes performance systems to the next level. Personally, I don't believe they've designed balanced scorecard's successor, but they have many interesting perspectives on stakeholders, choice of measurements, and the relationship between cause and effect.
Peter Leerskov,
MSc in International Business (Marketing & Management) and Graduate Diploma in E-business
Amazon.com
Five Frogs on a Log is a practical and easy-to-absorb manual for corporate leaders facing those intense periods of total transformation that seem--for better or for worse--to define today's business world. Written by Mark L. Feldman and Michael F. Spratt, both partners and managing directors of PricewaterhouseCoooper's global M&A consulting division, the book aims to help managers through the "jolts, curves, and emotional potholes" that inevitably accompany such large-scale restructuring. "The high-priced bankers and lawyers exit with the close," they write, "leaving management to confront the challenge of producing results that justify the price, the added risk, and/or the significant disruption to current operations. To complicate matters, they face what amounts to a new company and a set of unexpected demands that can easily divert them from capturing the value that drove the deal." With help from insightful illustrations and quotations from those who have been there, Feldman and Spratt build upon their basic theory--that speed is of the essence in corporate upheavals of this type--by offering pragmatic solutions for the myriad problems that invariably arise. --Howard Rothman
Book Description
A riddle:
Five frogs are sitting on a log.
Four decide to jump off. How many are left?
Answer: Five
Why?
Because there's a difference between deciding and doing.
Written by Mark L. Feldman and Michael F. Spratt of PricewaterhouseCoopers, Five Frogs on a Log offers readers an entertaining and no-nonsense field guide to the mergers and acquisitions jungle, packed with insight and instruction for executing corporate change and capturing shareholder value. Whether you're buying another company or acquiring a new vision of the future, this book proffers an unconventional perspective and a practical, readily accessible set of solutions to the single greatest challenge facing today's managers: executing rapid transitions ion mergers, acquisitions and gut wrenching change.
Designed for corporate managers and CEOs caught up in the whirlwind of change, every chapter provides accessible ideas and wisdom for navigating the most demanding business transitions. The authors offer a unique hands-on perspective based on their work with top Fortune 500 firms. As they state:
"Increasingly, the companies that win are those that learn faster, act quicker and adapt sooner. They will compress time by making and executing early, informed decisions about economic value creation, ruthless prioritization and focused resource allocation. They will use these decisions to take early firm stands on management deployment, organization structure and culture. Their actions will increasingly be linked to long-term, sustained economic value creation."
The advice and expertise offered in this book can be used to solve a range of operational problems from speeding up new product development to merging two businesses; from changing company culture to repositioning a business in a while new marketplace.
Whatever the challenges and opportunities facing you, your company, your industry, Five Frogs on a Log will move you from deciding to doing.
Customer Reviews:
Definitely Worth Reading.......2007-03-24
My organization is in the process of a major change and reorganization. I found this book to be right on target in identifying the challenges and hurdles that we faced as well as providing some effective solutions to ensure that we do not make the same mistakes that others before us have made. I believe this is an excellent book and a must read for anyone within the organization, not just CEOs.
good for frogs.......2006-07-11
Feldman and Spratt advise lots of CEOs of large corporations as part of their work for PricewaterhouseCoopers (a mergerized mouthful if there ever was one), and those consulting habits show. The book is anecdotal and clever without being practical or useful, even if you're actually contemplating a merger. You will, however, learn the riddle of the five frogs on a log, which in the interest of saving time, we offer here: Five frogs are sitting on a log. Four decide to jump off. How many are left? Five. Because there's a difference between deciding and doing. "Execution," the authors tell us, "is always more difficult than it seems."
Here's the lesson: Smart advice is timeless. If you do want a quick take on making effective decisions, then consider the very short chapter "The Effective Decision" in Peter Drucker's Managing the Non-profit Corporation (HarperCollins, 1990). Drucker writes sharply about the evils of reaching consensus too quickly, the dangers of not doing your homework, and the fact that decision making always involves risk taking. He also observes that "far too many decisions remain pious intentions." Even more memorable than the frog story.
Very thought provoking.......2002-06-27
This book is an excellent view of the M&A process from a very different angle. Many books cover the mechanics of the process, but this one looks at the outcomes for human beings - our most important assets. I would recommend it highly.
Worth reading.......2002-04-30
Having been on the receiving end of several poorly-executed acquisitions, I much appreciated the authors' vivid descriptions of merger complexity - and their straightforward advice on how to avoid it. Definitely worth reading.
The best of them all.......2002-04-29
My company has been making acquisitions for over twenty years and I think we've read all the merger books in print. "Five Frogs" is the winner when it comes to candid, practical and intuitive advice on how to accelerate through the post-deal transition without destroying shareholder value. Its a fast and easy read that makes its points clearly and with great examples that force you to think intelligently about decisions that must be made and executed quickly. The two chapters on internal and external communications planning and execution alone are worth the price. Our results from following the authors'advice on post-deal priority setting were both powerful and surprisingly painless. We're about to go through the biggest merger in our history and every member of every transition team in both companies now has a copy of "Five Frogs." It's become our merger bible. Also, if you get a chance to hear Feldman speak on the subject, don't miss it. He's an articulate and entertaining speaker who's seen it all. Very motivating.
Average customer rating:
- Great book, (0 stars to Amazon.co.uk)
- Good Starter of I.O, comprehensive, self-satisfactory
|
Advanced Industrial Economics
Stephen Martin
Manufacturer: Blackwell Publishing Limited
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Binding: Hardcover
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The Theory of Industrial Organization
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Industrial Organization: Theory and Applications
ASIN: 0631217568 |
Book Description
This updated and substantially revised second edition, like its predecessor, integrates a discussion of the latest theoretical developments with a comprehensive review of empirical work. Designed for upper-level undergraduates and graduates in industrial economics, there are complete treatments of the basic oligopoly models that are the bread and butter of theoretical industrial economics (Cournot, Bertrand, and extensions; horizontal and vertical product differentiation), of models of strategic behavior as well as of the determination of market and firm structure, and of the literatures on collusion, advertising, and the economics of innovation. Stephen Martin also provides a complete review of empirical tests of market performance, from Bain to the 'empirical renaissance' and beyond.
contains expanded treatments of: hotelling's spatial model oligopoly with quality differentiation empirical evidence on entry and exit the analysis of firm structure presents new discussions of: the classical view of the Cournot model strategic substitutability and complementarity representative consumer models of product differentiation the Kreps and Scheinkman model with product differentiation the New Empirical Industrial Organization, Solow residual, and event study approaches to the analysis of market power deterministic and stochastic models of research and development With a more cohesive writing style, reduced size, additional invaluable information, and new problems to solve, the second edition of Advanced Industrial Economics is a key text in industrial economics.
The paperback edition of this book is not available from Blackwell in the US or Canda
Customer Reviews:
Great book, (0 stars to Amazon.co.uk).......2005-02-18
I bought this book 4 weeks ago and I am still waiting. I just keep receiving emails saying that they are having some delay so in 1-2 week they will dispatche the book.
If you really need this book go and buy it someplace else.
Good Starter of I.O, comprehensive, self-satisfactory.......2000-02-16
No doubt, one of the best for those interested in graduate level of industrial organization. Readers can learn about major business strategies in industrial markets and its welfare implications. Leading theories, major empirical analyses, and added author's view against too influential Chicago ideas will giveĀ@excellent perspective of the progress in the field. The appendix of game theory is written to make the book self-satisfactory.
Average customer rating:
- An overview ith the details
- Practical techniques
- An essential book for project managers
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Total Construction Project Management
George J. Ritz
Manufacturer: McGraw-Hill Professional
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ASIN: 0070529868 |
Book Description
Suffering from chronic project headaches? Relief is on the way! PM pro George Ritz has written the prescription for the efficient, profitable, and headache-free management of any capital project. Total Construction Project Management combines the latest management innovations with tried-and-proven construction techniques to produce a cutting-edge ``total system'' guaranteed to give you complete control over every phase of field operations. You'll see how to: prepare winning bids and proposals; obtain and negotiate favorable contracts; estimate accurate project costs; determine realistic project budgets; set attainable project schedules; organize human, physical, and financial resources; design, build, and motivate a field organization; implement effective project controls; ensure job-site safety; improve project communications; use PCs in the field and office; and much more.
Customer Reviews:
An overview ith the details.......2005-11-10
This book breaks it all down. Time management, budgeting, dealing with staff and technical issues. For those in the field already, its a refresher and a confirmation of what you're doing. For those new to the field, it can serve as an operations manual for guidance. Appendix B that describes the job description is invaluable.
Practical techniques.......2003-05-03
This book has the basic knowlegde tha every CM must know, its easy to read, and it give you a better and required professional overview of construccion projects.
An essential book for project managers.......2001-04-19
Easy and comprehensible step by step guide to project management, very helpful for both experienced and entry level project management engineers
Book Description
Richard Daft's best-selling text, ORGANIZATION THEORY AND DESIGN, integrates the most recent thinking about organizations, classic ideas and theories, and real world practice, in a way that is interesting and enjoyable for students. Throughout the text, detailed examples illustrate how companies are coping in the rapidly changing, highly competitive, international environment. It is one of the most systematic and well- organized texts in the market. It helps students and managers prepare for the challenges they will face in the real world. This edition provides a thorough revision to showcase current examples and research alongside time-tested information. While organization studies and real world examples are insightful for understanding organizations and solve real-world problems, Daft also integrates numerous features that give students opportunity to apply concepts and develop skills and insights.
Customer Reviews:
Excellent book with excellen deal.......2007-09-27
I bought this book with the apprehension that it might not be the same one I'm looking for.But Amazon made me feel so satisfied.I got the exact book and that too new and in much lower price than the market.
The learning book.......2005-07-23
"Organization Theory and Design" is a book every corporate member that has aspirations to better understand and contribute to his organization should own.
I used this book studying a basic course of organizational behavior after the professor had referred to it as "the best text on the market". I found out he was right - the book is extremely well-written and its contribution to my understanding of the subject is invaluable.
As it happened, I partly read older versions of the book to find out how every few years Mr. Daft updates his analysis, insights and examples of the ever changing and evolving world of organizations; for instance, the past example of IBM that served as the major opening example of an organization that has gone from the top of the world to the brink of disintegration in the beginning of the 90's (and since then regained leading position in its areas of expertise), is replaced in this 8th edition with Xerox. Mr. Daft continues and presents the most recent developments in organizations' design - structures and management methods that have only emerged lately in response to the turbulences in the environments and competition worldwide.
By making the changes and improvements in every edition "Organization theory and design" wins the title of this review - "the learning book" - that mirror images the main theme of this work - "the learning organization". Almost no organization can stand still in today's reality - managers and workers have to constantly think of better ways of doing things and learn from every source that bears knowledge and can give the organization a better competitive advantage. Things have never moved so fast and threats and opportunities have never been so immense. Competitors have to be efficient and different to survive and stay on the top.
The structure of the book is designed to convey its ideas in the best possible manner: Each and every chapter opens with an example illustrating its content, then an introduction to the subject. Theory and examples from today's organizational world followa and are interwoven throughout the text in the "in practice" section. A fascinating section is "leading by design" in which Mr. Daft highlights top-of-the-line companies that have managed to materialize the theory and consequently lead their industries. Yet another remarkable feature is "bookmark" in which the autohor recommends and actually reviews the content of other books that further develop the subject the chapter dealt with. For me, the magnitude of this behavior is unprecedented; I haven't read a book that is so much interested in advancing and advertising works of fellow authors. This is a code of conduct every author can learn from in pursuing the ultimate goal - to better inform and educate his/her readers.
Some of the material the book covers include the organizational environment, organizational structures, organizational decision making processes, ethics, organization-decline and organizational politics.
As is the norm in many books, Mr. Daft integrates case studies directly connected to the content of each chapter in its end. They add all the more to the reality dimension that is so strong throughout the book.
Lastly, the price of this book is somewhat expensive but well worth the money and will certainly prove to be a wise investment. Years after its reaing and studying it may serve as a reference source when the reader will stumble across situations covered in the book and learn to appreciate even more the lessons insights Mr. daft offers.
A Strong Guide in Organization Theory.......2001-05-18
This is a well-designed and comprehensive book in the area of organization theory. From introduction to the end, this book aims to teach the foundations of organization theory to readers.
There is a great awareness of new developments in the area of organization theory. The new developments such as team-based management models are integrated into the conventional wisdom wonderfully in the book. We are living in a world in which globalization and stiff competition dominates. We name this age as Information Age and corporations need new mentality and practices to adapt to challenging conditions this era brings about. This book presents some new approaches in global competition perspective to readers.
A Look Inside, Bookmark, In Practice, The New Paradigm and Case for Analysis are excellent peculiarities of the book.
Diagrams and other visual characterizations involved in the book give readers a big opportunity to digest topics recounted. Since this book is a detailed investigation of organization theory, you may miss some parts and feel confused. I can recommend another book, that is, Designing Organizations (Robey, D. and Sales, Carol A.), which is a summarized organization theory book with excellent cases.
If you want to understand organization theory with its basic foundations and details, this book is a must. You must exploit the rich knowledge of Professor Daft.
Strongly recommended.
Readable and great information.......2000-11-20
Daft out did himself in this edition of his text. He includes book reviews and company profiles throughout each chapter to illustrate the theories he's describing. I read this for an MA course and found it easy to learn from. I'm even putting the information into practice at work! Not all textbooks are that helpful. *grin*
team-based structure.......1999-06-28
Application of organization design about Team-Based Structures and The boundaryless Organization.
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- Out of Control: The New Biology of Machines, Social Systems and the Economic World
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