Book Description
What works, why it works, and how to evaluate a shared services program
Shared services, a form of "internal outsourcing," enables corporations to achieve economies of scale by creating a separate entity within the company to perform specific internal services, such as payroll, accounts payable, travel and expense processing, etc. Essentials of Shared Services provides a quick, concise overview of shared services fundamentals, bringing senior-level executives up to speed so that they make the right decision. Bryan Bergeron provides a foundation of shared services from a historical, economic, technical, and customer perspective, showing how shared services can impact a corporation's bottom line, both long and short term. He delivers specific recommendations that can be used to establish and manage a shared services effort and includes a variety of examples of programs that work and those that do not.
Customer Reviews:
More of a Primer than a guide on How-To.......2006-05-14
Based on the editorial reviews I had high hopes for this book. However it is more of a primer discussing some of the issues that surround the topic of shared services than how-to. The really tough decisions involving shared services are how to evaluate the potential programs to take on, how to integrate and manage the portfolio across the functional silos (i.e., finance, HR, real estate, supply chain, and IT), how to govern the shared services organization, and how to balance customer satisfaction with cost efficiencies. Unfortunately this book is not helpful in dealing with these issues.
So if you are a newbie trying to find out what shared services is all about you may find this book helpful. But if you are a manager who has been charged with implimenting a shared services function, there isn't much help here.
Good overview of business models.......2003-11-07
I'm an MBA student and picked up this book to learn more about shared services. Turns out there's a lot to know. But what I came away with was a better appreciation for the varioius business models out there. The book does a good job of comparing and contrasting the various centralized and decentralized ways of conducting business in corporate america, using real-world companies as examples. In short, I was pleasantly surprised. It'll stay on my bookshelf.
Average customer rating:
- Wise -- and reads like a novel
- Both practical and "big vision" ideas
- Compelling, well-written, with practical business insights
- Worth its weight in gold
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Return on Learning: Training for High Performance at Accenture
Donald Vanthournout ,
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ASIN: 1932841180 |
Book Description
From one of the world's best-known corporations comes this in-depth, inside story of how Accenture revitalized its fabled corporate training organization in the midst of worldwide economic downturn and major marketplace change. The company did so by focusing on the "return on learning": how Accenture's investments in learning and knowledge management could be planned and managed to deliver measurable business advantage. The Accenture veterans who tell this story take readers deep inside Accenture’s operations and decision making, so other professionals and companies can benefit from these experiences in using training to achieve high performance.
Customer Reviews:
Wise -- and reads like a novel.......2007-05-09
A great book. I'm sorry that I haven't seen it reviewed in major publications. There's a real wisdom at the heart of this book. Lots of ideas about how to deliver great training that has an impact on the business. Personal reflections from the people who work for the training organization at Accenture, all spun as a story. And then some really provocative, forward-looking ideas. Reading the book is like bringing a Trojan horse of ideas into your company.
Both practical and "big vision" ideas .......2006-10-09
I'm guessing that "Ed" and I (see other review) might have been at the same conference together where we received a copy of this book. I can second much of what he says, and also add that when it comes to one of my personal measures of a book's value--"number of significant ideas per page"--this book scores very high. I liked the "phenomenal learning" stuff in particular, and I also liked the discussion of Accenture's decision support capabilities that it developed as part of its learning management system.
I'd have to classify myself as one of those getting somewhat disillusioned by the big discrepancy between what a company's leaders say about their workforce ("People are our most important asset, yadda yadda yadda") and where they really invest their money. (Guess what budgets get cut first when things get tight?) I don't know enough about Accenture's inner workings from an employee's perspective to know if it's business really rises above that, but it is clear they are wrestling with it, and that certain core leaders really do "get" it.
There are practical ideas in this book and there are some "big vision" kinds of ideas -- something for about everyone.
Compelling, well-written, with practical business insights.......2006-09-29
I finished this book on a cross-country flight this week (the book is admirably short and punchy) and I'm still shaking my head over it. The book is incredibly honest about how business change and a down economy had apparently temporarily weakened Accenture's commitment to its workforce to provide training and development opportunities. (Actual quote from the book, when Accenture's Chief Learning Officer is trying to convince his executives that something had to be done: "The deal we have made with our people has been broken.")
But then the book proceeds to tell an entirely believable story of how they turned things around. Sure, there is the ocasional bit of consulting-speak in here, but most of what you get are practical ideas about how to plan, how to get your executives on board (please give this book to your local CEO/COO/CFO), how to use outsourcing in a smart way, how to use technology, ect., ect. And its not filled with theory but practical experiences of real people. For those with the background/interest, there is also a chapter on the number-crunching. Doubt it if you want to, but these guys proved that Accenture gets a 353 percent return on every dollar it spends on training. From what I can tell by reading that chapter, the real number probably is even higher since the ROI model they created only used a few parameters that they were absolutely sure they could quantify.
The book is really targeted at executives, but there is also a lot of good stuff for learning and HR professionals. One thing I really liked: Accenture's admission that in previous years they're training people had gotten lots of awards for training courses but weren't as good when it came to delivering projects on time and on budget. This new team got the respect of senior executives by saying, "Yeah, we're still going to deliver great training, but we're also going to do it by being good stewards of your investment dollars."
Not everyone is going to have the money Accenture has to throw at problems like this, but they, too, learned to do a lot with a much smaller budget -- and I can't think of a single thing here that another CEO or HR/learning executive like myself couldn't apply in some way to his or her organization.
On top of it all, the book is written in a totally compelling way. Other writers of business books, take note: it's written such that the authors are actually characters in a story. As a reader, your brought along as if you were reading a novel. Even if learning or HR isn't your thing, take a read to see how you can plan any kind of reinvention business program.
A really well done book, and worth the time it took for me to write a few words saying, "Way to go."
Worth its weight in gold.......2006-07-27
It's always challenging to bridge the gap between high-level theory in Human Resources, and the confusing mire of on-the-ground action. It's all very well to `know' that you need your HR and training practices to align with and support your business strategy. But how is this accomplished? When you're faced with convincing executives, with other priorities and little time, to support what are often costly initiatives in Content Management and Corporate Training, and trying to make a good fit between what vendors offer and what your organization needs, when your budget has been cut and your employees have high-standards- it can seem as if you've been asked to juggle cats.
Return on Learning is the story of how one organization, Accenture, managed to successfully align training with business strategy, working on a budget that was cut in half, while maintaining extremely high-standards for the learning delivered to employees. The story is delivered from an in-the-trenches perspective for HR and Training professionals. There are no pat and `easy' answers here, but there are several ideas and innovations about `how' they did it that make this book worth it's weight in gold. Among these innovations are the V-Model (that guides training from goal through design and delivery to measurement), and an award-winning, innovative methodology for measuring the ROI of training that takes you out of the realm of estimates and into the promised land of hard data. Accenture manages to run training like a business, and not just as a catch-phrase. If you want to see how it's done, when it's really done well, this is a good place to start.
Book Description
This comprehensive financial management book is designed to help future or current human services or social work administrators manage programs and agencies more effectively. The book includes information on various budgeting systems (line-item, performance, and program) and other financial management tools, including program structures and responsibility centers; financial accounting and the interpretation and analysis of financial statements; the forecasting of revenues, expenses, and caseloads; service costing and the linking of costs to performance (output, quality, and outcome) measures; fee setting; government contracts, and more.
For anyone interested in financial management for human services, social work, or nonprofit organizations.
Book Description
Redefining Financial Services explores the fundamental redefinition of the role of financial intermediaries in the new century. Combining empirical knowledge with a historical approach, the author reveals that seven centuries of advances in technology have changed the nature of financial services very little. Examining the state of financial services today in the context of the new economy's evolution, Joe DiVanna investigates what changes are happening in the financial industry, where they are occurring, how they are materializing and, more importantly, why.
Book Description
Taking its name from the infamous basement party room of a major brokerage branch near New York City, Tales from the Boom-Boom Room combines three spellbinding stories -- extreme, widespread sexual harassment and sex discrimination; legal maneuvering by Wall Street firms to deter or quietly settle sensational complaints; and multimillion-dollar class action lawsuits begun by a handful of female whistle-blowers against the two biggest brokerages in the nation.
The author, whose disclosures in the press became a rallying cry against sexual hazing at branch offices across America, takes the reader directly into a red-hot tangle of shocking allegations -- unprintable here -- and strenuous, across-the-board denials by firms and men accused. This drama's repercussions continue today, as new accusations are brought and longstanding complaints move toward the first-ever public hearings that the Boom-Boom Room case brought about.
Customer Reviews:
A Black Eye for Wall Street.......2004-11-10
I found it difficult to put this book down, and I would have given it 5 stars if the ending wasn't so weak. The end left me hanging and was a little confusing with all of the names and trials.
That said, I heard of some of the cast of characters in this book. I even worked for the same firm as one of them, and he was an arrogant guy who thinks his you know what doesn't stink.
Some of the stories in here were bizzare and almost all were well documented. Men and women should read this book to learn about Wall Street's dirty little secret. However, I am not convinced that this is a problem unique to Wall Street. I am positive that discrimination is in all industries, and it is not limited to sexual harrassment.
Packed With Knowledge!.......2004-06-16
Susan Antilla presents a powerful and startling indictment of the sexist behavior of stock brokers working for Wall Street and its offshoots, specifically Smith Barney's Shearson/American Express office in Garden City, Long Island. Women struggled to be hired, and then found that the men in charge of their careers practiced all sorts of sexual harassment and intimidation, from jokes to displays of sexual prowess, physical contact and threats of rape. As she describes, the bosses sought to bar women or trap them in low positions. While painting the broader picture, Antilla focuses on whistle blower, Pam Martens, who revealed the situation when she sued for damages. This skillfully written book reads like a fascinating novel, so graphic and dramatic that it is more like a screenplay than a report. We believe it will draw intense interest from everyone affected by this issue: female executives who face glass ceilings and harassment, male executives who must determine their own philosophies toward their female colleagues and human resource professionals who are charged with watching out for them both.
Kind of Relieving but sad.......2004-01-17
I read this book as I'm very familiar with the Brokerage Industry. I must say, while some of this is appalling, and people should never be treated poorly, it's relieving to know that there is a place where men are (were) still men. Men call each other disparaging remarks, call each other names, basically joke around and take it one step further. Unfortunately, women always want in, and it ends up ruining it for everyone. Any fun or solace we had is gone. It's a shame too, because those same women could have fun too and be "One of the guys" though fear of their lawsuits has now caused even the last bastion of men to fall. Why couldn't you just stick with Dr. Phil and leave us alone. Where can we hide from women and still be ourselves? Is there no place to go?? Even better, why can't those women just join us, rather than fight us! It would seem the last place men can work and have fun, and at the same time have women having fun with them is the Man Show, or the Howard Stern show. I'm sorry that sounds so sad, but it's our truth. Time's have changed, and while our son's will never know it, it's our own fault for caving to their whims, little by little by little. It's a women's world!
Very accurate.......2003-11-09
I was a successful broker for many years in one of Smith Barney's largest offices in the nation, and I can personally attest that the events depicted in this book, while shocking, are not exaggerations.
I would have appreciated if Antilla had consulted with some Constitutional law experts. She should have noted that the U.S. Supreme Court upheld mandatory arbitration shortly after Judge Motley upheld it in this particular lawsuit.
Antilla captures the culture of Shearson Lehman Bros. and Smith Barney with uncanny accuracy. Any investor -- male or female -- should read this book to understand some of the ways that the Wall Street good old boys network circles the wagons to protect their own.
A Case with a Twist.......2003-03-17
I'm a principal at an investment-banking firm although not a stockbroker so reading this book was a good exercise in reviewing the risks at our firm. The coverage in this book is exceptional. As discussed, investment-banking firms are ripe with potential for sexual discrimination. Partly because so many areas work on trading floors which breed a fraternity type atmosphere, partly because stock brokers tend to be fraternity/salesmen type guys, and partly because this environment has assistants, many who are women, working in close contact with these who sometimes consider themselves "masters of the universe." Confidence/cockiness is never in short supply at an investment banking firm's trading floor.
The first part of the book lays out the environment where sexual discrimination was prevalent. It's so clearly offensive that it's amazing there wasn't a larger settlement in this case. But this is where the book greatly details the unique twist in the case. The protagonist goes through two lawyers and watches as her lawyer and the opposing lawyer seem to become more in agreement than her and her lawyer. Eventually she's dropped from the settlement even though her name still appears on the class action suit. So while I thought I was a reading a sexual discrimination, the book turned into attorney/client relationships and attorney greed in class action cases.
Do I think the attorneys became more concerned about their large fee than their client? Yes. Do I think the original client could be difficult to deal with? Yes. But the outcome is tragic and no one got what he or she deserved. Justice was not monetarily served for the defendants in my opinion. I strongly recommend this book if you have interest in investment banking, law or women's issues.
Book Description
An important roadmap for fundraising in today's multicultural communities
Raising money in today's diverse communities is a growing challenge for fundraisers and philanthropists, requiring thoughtful strategies, successful collaborations, and a respectful understanding of people's differences.
In this groundbreaking new book, the author examines today's four major ethnic groups-African American, Asian American, Hispanic/Latino, and Native American-in terms of their diverse histories, traditions, and motivations, and then applies this information to the proven components of successful fundraising. The result is a timely and important look at how fundraisers can use an understanding of ethnic differences to create a vibrant and balanced nonprofit center through both individual and collective efforts.
In clear, easy-to-understand language, Cultivating Diversity in Fundraising answers the following critical questions:
- Who are diverse donors?
- What are their charitable traditions and interests?
- What fundraising methods will be successful in diverse communities?
- What can fundraisers do to include more diversity in fundraising efforts?
Designed as a guide to fundraising as well as a strategic update for existing fundraisers, this book should be required reading for anyone working in today's nonprofit sector.
Customer Reviews:
This will help a lot.......2002-12-04
This book came along just in time. I want to congratulate Jancie Gow Pettey for tackling this subject and for doing it in a way that is readable and helpful. This book came to my attention just as I was accepting a new job with a nonprofit institution that serves an extremely diverse (both ethnically and economically) community. One phrase stood out to me: "Diversity means adjustment."
Summary: Get this book for your development library.
spn
Fundraising in a Multicultural World.......2002-01-11
In this latest publication in the AFP/Wiley Fund Development Series, author Janice Gow Pettey contends that, to be successful, fundraisers must understand diverse ethnic cultures in America. While philanthropy in America mirrors the rapid shifts in technology and culture of the 21st century, giving practices in many ethnic communities draw on ancient cultural and religious traditions. Pettey looks at four major ethnic groups, African American, Asian American, Hispanic/Latino and Native American, explores their charitable traditions, then applies this background to recommended fundraising techniques.
The book provides interesting historical perspectives on these four groups, and offers insights into specialized giving practices. Cultural pitfalls are addressed as well: how do you bring up planned giving in a Chinese community, where death may be a taboo subject? How do you measure philanthropy where much of the flow of funds is back to communities in immigrants' home lands?
Also included are demographic data from the 2000 census, as well as observations gleaned from interviews with professionals in the philanthropic sector on family, personal and cultural giving patterns within their respective cultures. (This survey is ongoing, and the author gives information in the book on how to participate.)
"Cultivating Diversity in Fundraising" is well-organized and clearly written. While giving nonprofit professionals the tools to succeed in successful fundraising among these major ethnic groups, the book also promotes a greater understanding and respect for the role of minority communities in American philanthropic life.
Book Description
This new text provides students with an understanding of the fundamentals of the financial management of health care organizations. By using an easy-to-read format and presenting a variety of case studies, this book focuses on the financial management function in the context of overall organizational management. Divided into six key sections, this well-organized book covers accounting, financial statement analysis, time value of money, valuation, cost analysis and budgeting and also gives thorough treatment of agency costs and their effects on financial decision making.
Customer Reviews:
Practically useless.......2006-05-19
Don't waste your money on this useless paperweight. I had to buy it for a college class, so I had no choice. The treatment of accounting is too superficial. It claims to give the reader a good grasp on balance sheets and income statements, but fails to adequately define or explain many of the terms used on actual corporate statements. The chapters on costing, and budgeting introduce some theory, but by the time you are finished, you still have no idea how to actually construct a budget. The financial chapters are superficial, and at the same time use statistical concepts that are not explained, leaving the unprepared student rubbing his or her head and wondering what the hell the discussion was about. On that note, the entire book suffers from the useage of terms and concepts that are either poorly explained or not explained at all. The book covers a good spectrum of financial subjects, but all are covered too poorly to be of any use to a real-world manager. The actual useful information in the book could probably be condensed to 10 pages. The rest is useless fluff that talks ABOUT the subjects without telling the student how to actually accomplish something. In short, the book gives little practical training and is heavy on theory, but the theory is superficial and incomplete, so the book is just about useless. I bought an inexpensive book on accounting and another on budgeting (about 150 pages each) that answered my questions and taught me the basics of how to accomplish those functions. I won't say which ones, as I don't want to be accused of representing those authors or publishers, but just know that almost any financial books you buy will be better than this one.
Book Description
This book deals with the full scope of financial concerns in human service agencies from an administrative point of view. Intended to bridge the gap between social workers and business managers, Breaking Even not only synthesizes existing treatments of fund-raising and evaluation, but also shows how the various phases of financial management are related. Professor Lohmann uses clear and conversational language and sample forms to explain technical material.
Average customer rating:
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Developing People and the Corporate Culture in Financial Services
Manufacturer: CRC
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ASIN: 0849317452 |
Book Description
Financial services businesses are leading the way towards the global economy because capital can be moved around more easily than and more quickly than either labor, raw materials or goods and services. This book provides invaluable guidance on managing change in organizational culture and human resources. The cultural change process - central to the transformation of any financial service organization's success in today's fast-moving markets - is evaluated. Key strategies such as using vision and mission statements and encouraging employee participation are discussed, and recommendations for bringing about innovation are provided. These management strategies for employee relations will bring your organization into the twenty-first century. Developing People and the Corporate Culture in Financial Services gives you - through close analysis of the issues and case studies - blueprints for the management of change across this fast-changing and fast converging industry. The emphasis is put on the practical implementation of change management strategies, as employed by those who are at the cutting edge of change in the international finance services community today. Features
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