Book Description
Breathtaking in its simplicity and profound in its impact, Key Performance Indicators (KPI) distills the balanced scorecard process into twelve logical steps, equipping users with an implementation resource kit that includes questionnaires, worksheets, workshop outlines, and a list of over 500 performance measures. Author David Parmenter provides you with everything you need to master and implement a KPI-driven strategy.
Customer Reviews:
Prepare to be converted.......2007-08-14
This is a must for every accounts dept. It gives you a fresh and concise look at developing your accounts dept and company as a whole.
Lots of ideas to think about, easy to read and understand. Even step by step lists that you can follow.
I would recommend this book to anyone from a trainee accoutant to FCO's it throws out the old way of looking at things and brings in a new and exciting way of thinking about the bigger picture.
As accountants we are very happy to plod along with our wonderful spreadsheets, this helps you look at better ways of working.
Everything it promised to be.......2007-07-24
It promised key performance indicators and it actually provided them. Easy to read, good format.
KPI Usability Review.......2007-07-05
I found this book to be reasonably helpful. There are lists and lists of key performance indicators in the back of the book. There was one story in particular (won't give it away for all of you who want the book) that was particularly good and I have started sharing that example in my work (Six Sigma). All in all, I think I am looking for more of the "how to do it," which I found this book to be a little light on. . . . . .
A rational methodology to implement KPIs.......2007-07-03
The main purpose of this book is to be a practical methodology to implement KPIs, and it does this reasonably well.
I would say that many recommendations throughout the book will be of good use, although there are several concepts that are applicable in a cultural environment that is more common to multinational companies or very large local companies.
The best chapter of this book is the first, where David Parmenter discusses the concept of a KPI, from a practical point of view. He divides indicators in three basic types, that makes sense and help understand them :
. KRI - Key Results Indicator
. PI - Performance Indicator
. KPI - Key Performance Indicator
In this chapter, he emphasizes the fact that KPIs are just the few main indicators that management of a business must identify, so that they focus on the right things... Something to remember all the time when you are implementing BSCs, Dashboards and the like.
The proposed approach behind this methodology is a practical one. It is for those that want faster results. The final phrase of the book could be: "roll up your sleeves and put KPIs to work as fast as you can".
Great Framework for Developing and Implementing KPI's.......2007-04-10
This was a very easy concise yet comprehensive framework and structure for developing and implementing KPI's. It distinguishes true KPI's from performance indicators or results indicators which people gravitate to as they think they are KPI's. This laid out a logical framework to follow. It is an easy read and provides many checklists as well as sample KPI's.
Book Description
Jeff Hartman. Drawing on a wealth of knowledge, experience, and a background of more than 1,000 magazine articles on the subject, engine control expert Jeff Hartman explains everything from the basics of engine management to the building of complicated project cars.
Customer Reviews:
The ultimate guide........2007-09-02
It doesnt get any better than this! Another "Motorbooks workshop" series book.Its 270 pages in colour that explains in great detail engine management systems.
There is at least one fault,its a bit too technical for some people but its still a great book.
There are plenty of diagrams and photographs throughout.If you are building a street machine or hot rod and want to consider EMS instead of carby engines this book will explain it all.
Does not cover engine Management System tuning.......2007-08-28
This book is a great book for overview if you never knew how a car works. It's a great book for basics and has several projects that are glossed over. Its' got lots of great photos.
Not one place does the book talk about Engine Management tuning. Fuel Maps, Ignition maps, what you are looking at, what they mean, basics like adjusting the 2bar spark map for turbo, etc... It talks a lot about history and products but does not cover what it says it does which is the actual engine management tuning. I strongly suggest looking elsewhere for a book if you actually plan on doing some ECM tuning or EMS tuning, this books does not even get you started on how to do it, it has lots of photos and history so you can sound like you know what you are talking about at the next car show, but nothing there to get your hands dirty.
good for beginners not wanting to actually do tuning but understand the management systems.
THE BOOK on EMS systems.......2007-07-14
this book is detailed enough in its explanations that a programmer could write his own engine management system. It is good to the point that if you own one of the many project cars mentioned you should buy this book. The author obviously knows a LOT about engine management systems. If you ever worried about the specifics such as proper ignition timing or what the best AFR would be in situation x , this book is the answer. There is no reason to make this review lengthy, the book is very good. I am very picky about my books, I wont even buy one if it's amazon rating is under a 4, and I think this book is great.
Gearhead to Gear-Geek.......2007-06-13
I enjoyed the book. I found it very helpful in understanding the elements of an engine management system. I wanted to better understand my car's brain and decide whether I wanted to tinker with its software or not.
My next step is to look into programming software packages and programmer units- thanks to reading this book, I feel good about taking the next step: brain surgery on a supercharged iron beast.
Excellent background primer.......2007-05-19
This was a very thorough introduction to Electronic Fuel Injection basics, starting out with how you would want to design a system to handle those items that used to be handled by a distributor and carburetor. The author also talks about the advantages of EFI systems, typical engine parameters, and even gives formulas for deriving various component sizes, such as injector flow rate. If you are looking for in-depth information about how to tune a specific motor or automobile, this isn't the book for you. The specifics of engine tuning are given in more general terms so that they can be applied to your particular application as you gain knowledge to tackle your first EFI tuning project.
Amazon.com
Six Sigma is a data-driven management system with near-perfect-performance objectives that has been employed to acclaim at leading corporations like General Electric. Its name is derived from the eye-catching statistical target of operating with no more than 3.4 defects per one million chances, but Peter Pande, Robert Neuman, and Roland Cavanagh--associates in a firm providing Six Sigma implementation, training, and management services--contend its principles can be applied in businesses of all types to routinely reduce costs, improve productivity, increase market share, and achieve other positive results. The Six Sigma Way is their comprehensive self-help guide to adapting and using the system under various conditions. Its first two parts cover fundamentals and provide specific suggestions for aligning the process with individual needs and goals. (These include sections on balancing potential costs and benefits, clarifying objectives, and defining time frames.) The final part, which accounts for more than half the book, focuses on implementation through a detailed yet flexible five-step "road map" tied to a company's core processes, key customers, current performance, "high-potential improvement opportunities," and future practices. While the procedure is quite complex, diligent managers should be able to bring at least basic components to their organization with the tools and techniques provided. --Howard Rothman
Book Description
Six Sigma is a system for improving the quality of organizational processes. It was originally developed at Motorola in the 1980's and has become one of the most widely discussed and reported trends in business over the past two years, thanks largely to the phenomenal successes of the Six Sigma program at one of the world's most successful companies, GE. GE CEO Jack Welch, has been preaching about and implementing the Six Sigma philosophy throughout GE, and credits the program with millions of dollars in annual cost savings and product quality improvements.
Download Description
Six Sigma -- the organizational quality system made famous by GE's legendary Jack Welch -- has set new standards for process improvement. The Six Sigma Way is the first book to provide basic, non-technical information on understanding and implementing Six Sigma. Eye-opening success stories show how companies including GE, Motorola, Allied Signal, and others have used Six Sigma to produce millions in cost-savings and quality improvements. Written to give managers a basic overview of what Six Sigma is and how to implement it, The Six Sigma Way covers the application of Six Sigma across all industries.
Customer Reviews:
Horridly boring........2007-09-13
More power to you if you can get something worthwile from this book. I bought the book on CD, and it was easily the most forgettable experience I've had in a while. The information is presented from a 30,000 mile view. So "big picture" oriented that it's useless to try and consider the action behind the concepts presented.
If you're looking for a way to appear to have read something complicated and high level about Six Sigma. you found your source. If you want real, usable information, look elsewhere.
Excellent Book.......2007-09-07
No Joke. A serious six-sigma book written in most elegant form. I like the part where the Authors provide insights into "Sir Pork" - a really good way to put serious stuffs into readable form. Ignore the stars. It could have been 6 :).
A Six Sigma Primer.......2007-02-25
If you're looking to learn about Six Sigma, this is the book to start with. It provides a good overview and quickly dispels the common myths (e.g. Six sigma is for manufacturing companies alone). It helps the reader to determine if Six Sigma is right for his/her organization, and provides clear steps demonstrating how to implement the six sigma roadmaps. It doesn't get too heavy into the advanced statistics, although there is a chapter that explains some of the tools and how they are used. Bottom line: While the reader may still need some assistance (from a trained Black Belt), this book provides the tools necessary to complete a six sigma project. I've read a few books on the topic and this was the most comprehensive - the best of the lot.
Six Sigma Overview - Full of Excellent Case Studies.......2006-11-22
While studying to become a Black Belt in Six Sigma, I found this book to be the most excellent overview of the history and benefits of Six Sigma. I did extensive research into useful books - and found this one to be the most effective.
Many other Six Sigma books try too hard to teach the material - and this book presents the basics, with strong business case studies of success.
If you are involved in the study or use of Six Sigma - I believe this is an essential book in your library.
Good overview but little substance.......2006-11-04
This audio book was more of a cheerleader for six sigma than a book to gain knowledge. It would be a good source of information if you have never heard of six sigma, but otherwise it is not very useful. The reader also has an annoying voice.
Book Description
The definitive resource for anyone developing and launching evaluation programs in organizations.
From new product launches to large-scale training initiatives, organizations need the tools to measure the effectiveness of their programs, processes, and systems. In Evaluation in Organizations, Darlene Russ-Eft and Hallie Preskill integrate the most current research with practical application to provide the definitive resource on organizational evaluation for managers, human resource professionals, and students and teachers alike. From designing surveys and interviews to analyzing data to communicating results, the authors present a systematic and rigorous approach to conducting evaluations and using them to foster learning and enhance performance at all levels.
Customer Reviews:
Evaluation handbook.......2007-01-07
This book was used as the principal text in a graduate management course. It offers a good overview of the evaluation process and a step by step process to either evaluate your organization, or create an evaluation process.
The best book on Program Evaluation.......2005-09-28
This text is a phenomenal resource on evaluating programs. This was a required text for a recent class that I was enrolled in for graduate school. It has all the information you would need regarding the background/context of evaluation, designing evaluations, and utilizing collected data. This book is also clear and concise.
The greatest resource that I will use the most is the information on forming surveys and questionaires. There are a lot of great examples (of everything, not just surveys) throughout the book. It provides many contextual likert scale surverys. This will always be helpful to look back on because of the wordings and phrasings used in surveys. Creating an effective survey is extremely tough; but, with the help of this text, it can be a lot easier to both conduct and understand.
The faculty member at my institution said that she agreed that this was the best book on the market for program evaluation. I tend to agree with her because it has a huge amount of information and it is easily accessible and easily referenced. It has some images and diagrams that are informative and moderately pleasant to look at.
If you are going to be evaluating programs and don't know where to start or you just need some reference materials for creating surveys/questionaires then this book is for you. I could also see this book as a valuable resource for someone who is on the other end (having a program evaluated) simply for the fact that it will help with vocabulary/nomenclature when communicating with the evaluators.
Excellent "how-to" book on corporate evaluation.......2002-05-29
Russ-Eft and Preskill have produced a first class book on evaluation that will be a constantly used reference on the bookshelf of any trainer, performance technologist or change agent who buys it. They begin with the history and theory of evaluation, presented in a very readable manner. Even their statistics section is easy to follow and apply! The section on the design and implementation of evaluations is packed with job aids, easy-to-apply tools and techniques, and guidelines on everything from running focus groups to sampling procedures. As a corporate evaluator I have been waiting for a book with this broad but in-depth coverage for years. Every aspect of the work of the evaluator is covered, and it is clear that the authors are both personally experienced in this field as well as widely read in the evaluation literature. Preskill and Torres' Readiness for Organizational Learning and Evaluation Instrument (ROLE) is generously included with instructions on administration and scoring, as well as an extensive bibliography for those who want to dig deeper into the subject of evaluation. This book is a must for those who are seriously committed to assessing the effectiveness and impact of interventions in organizations.
Cohesive, Comprehensive, and Cost-Effective.......2001-07-10
The subtitle correctly indicates what Russ-Eft and Preskill's primary objective is: To present and explain "a systematic approach to enhancing learning, performance, and change" throughout any organization, regardless of size of nature. They succeed brilliantly. The material is presented as follows:
Part I: Background and Context of Evaluation (Defining Evaluation; The Evolution of Evaluation; Evaluating Learning, Performance, and Change Initiatives; and The Politics and Ethics of Evaluation Practice)
Part II: Designing and Implementing the Evaluation (Focusing the Evaluation; Selecting the Evaluation Design; Choosing Data Collection Methods; Observation and Archival Data; Surveys and Questionnaires; Individual and Focus Group Initiatives; Sampling; and Analyzing Evaluation Data)
Part III: Maximizing Evaluation Use (Communicating and Reporting Evaluation Activities and Findings; Planning, Managing, and Budgeting the Evaluation; Evaluating the Evaluation; and Strategies for Implementing Evaluation in Organizations)
The authors then provide a comprehensive audit mechanism (with specific directions) in an appendix to the three-phase system: "The Readiness for Organizational Learning and Evaluation Instrument (ROLE)" developed by Hallie Preskill and Rosalie T. Torres. For those in need ot supplementary resources, a substantial References section is also provided.
Here is a brief excerpt: "Evaluation can be viewed as a catalyst and opportunity for learning -- learning what works and what doesn't work, learning about ourselves and the organization, and learning how to improve what we do in the workplace. As such, it can provide new understandings and insights into our programs, processes, products, and systems. Furthermore, evaluation can provide us with the confidence with which to make decisions and take actions that ultimately help employees and organizations succeed in meeting their goals." The authors agree with countless others that the future success of organizations will be dependent on their ability to build core competencies within a context of collaboration. They suggest that to develop support for evaluation as a knowledge-creating enterprise, "we must create a market for it. If we think about evaluation as a means for learning and attaining knowledge, then it becomes integrated into every organizational effort --from product development to program design to process reengineering to systemic change." They then suggest seven specific strategies when introducing or expanding evaluation practice. Throughout the book, they also include 60 Figures (e.g. "Guiding Principles for Evaluators") and three Tables (e.g. "Typical sections and contents of comprehensive written evaluation reports").
Who will derive the greatest value from this book? Obviously, decision-makers in organizations in need of "enhancing learning, performance, and change." Presumably that includes all organizations. Also, I highly recommend this book to all consultants now involved with organizations which have the same need. Presumably that includes all of their clients. Finally, I think this book will of immediate interest and eventual benefit to anyone who has only recently embarked on a business career. They will soon realize (if they have not realized it already) that the nature and extent of what they learn, how well they perform, and how effectively they initiate or respond to change will determine the nature and extent of their career success.
With the possible exception of Peter Drucker, no single source can possibly serve all of the needs of any one organization. For that reason, to those who read this book, I presume to recommend a few others: Fitz-enz's The E-Aligned Enterprise and The ROI of Human Capital, Maister's Practice What You Preach, O'Toole's Leading Change, Senge's The Fifth Discipline and The Dance of Change, Katzenbach's Real Change Leaders, O'Dell and Grayson's If We Only Knew What We Know, and just about anything written by Warren Bennis.
Book Description
A Treasure of Performance-Boosting Tricks for Trainers! The best training and development handbook ever published just got bigger and better! The ASTD Training and Development Handbook, Fourth Edition, by Robert L. Craig, is bursting with great new training ideas that'll help you work your magic in your organization. Top industry leaders give 100s of practice-proven techniques you can use right now to: Develop effective leadership skills; Exploit self-directed learning to meet empowerment, continuous improvement and other quality goals; Maximize an increasingly diverse workforce; Select and develop professional training staff; Design customized instructional systems; Build employee participant and involvement; Promote computer literacy in your workplace; Prepare for organizational development and change; Sell management on the importance your HR programs; Measure and evaluate training results; Much more!
Customer Reviews:
A Reference for Training Departments.......2006-04-21
This handbook is a collection of ideas from companies for designing employee training and learning systems. It covers such areas such as creating the "learning organization", outsourcing, electronic performance systems, interactive multimedia training systems, diversity training and development, training for global operations and benchmarking for best practices.
This comprehensive handbook helps trainers design classrooms, self-study and computer and web based training programs. While delivering the latest information on how adults learn best, it shows trainers how to prepare lesson plans, create visual aids, and deliver dynamic and powerful presentations.
Classic reference for Training & Development Professionals.......2002-02-09
The Handbook is arranged to cover almost all aspects of Training & Development. The topics are carefully selected and their authors picked from among the top names in their respective fields and therefore, the chapters are focused, targeted and provide the right mix of information and practical guidelines.
Each chapter addresses a single topic (like corporate universities, customer service training, leadership development, etc.) and is written in a straight-forward manner at the right depth making them easy to read and the perfect introduction to the topic without losing it's functionality as a reference.
No T&D professional should go without this book whether as a reference and a quick source of information when memory will just not oblige or an informative and valuable resource for information and ideas.
The Handbook is divided into 5 Sections:
1) The Training & development Function - Covering such topics as the learning organization, history of training and cost accounting for training.
2) Program Design & Development - The chapters on ISD; HPT; Adult Learning; & Evaluation are brilliantly written. I keep on going back to them again and again.
3) Media & methods - Includes some good case studies as well as Thiagi's excellent chapter on instructional games.
4) Training Applications - This is a brilliant discussion of almost all training topics that you might come across.
5) Resources - While these might be a little dated, they are still quite useful.
Check the table of Contents and some of the samples in the pages so obligingly provided by Amazon.com and don't be deterred by the length or the price of the book. This book is worth every cent and will last you long after you have forgotten the cost.
A must for every educators reference library........1999-05-25
The ASTD Training and Development Handbook, Fourth Edition, by Robert L. Craig, is an essential reference book for faculty, teachers, educators, and learning system administartors at all levels including University, Corporate, K-12, and Community Colleges. It is easy to use, very comprehensive, and has great quick summaries. With the fusion of the teaching, training, and tutoring into a learner centered model this book is more useful than ever. A MUST BUY. The price is worth every penny.
Excellent reference source for HRD professionals.......1999-05-09
This is a great resource for HR professionals from tiny to mega corporations. Contributing authors are the most respected experts in their fields. Primary focus is on training and development: accountability, justifying programs, format, leadership, pros, cons, pitfalls, challenges . . . all aspects are covered.
As I research and write my Adult Education thesis, this book is the most useful tool I've found.
Book Description
Interventions create solutions that alleviate or solve workplace problems. They cause change, small or large, due to improved performance and, thus, have an impact on individuals, groups, or organizations. The number of possible interventions is almost infinite, because any number of organizational, environmental, and people factors affect performance. Interventions facilitate change by interrupting poor behaviors, preventing errors, reducing conflict, or providing vision for the future.
Performance Improvement Interventions: Enhancing People, Processes, and Organizations through Performance Technology is a compendium of interventions based on the International Society for Performance Improvement's (ISPI) Human Performance Technology (HPT) model. After analyzing the workplace performance problem and its cause, HPT practitioners should possess sufficient data to select and design solutions, known as interventions. The HPT model is explained in detail in the ISPI companion book, Fundamentals of Performance Technology: A Guide to Improving People, Process, and Performance (2000).
Performance Improvement Interventions: Enhancing People, Processes, and Organizations through Performance Technology is designed as a desk reference of performance improvement opportunities for almost any need and occasion. The book identifies and explains common interventions by providing the definition and scope of each intervention as well as implementation guidelines. In addition, a job aid is provided for every intervention. Each section or cluster of interventions contains a case study to help the reader visualize implementation and its impact on the workplace.
The book also contains an intervention selection tool. Due to the enormity of intervention options, this tool helps HPT practitioners select the right intervention at the right time. The selection process outlines individual and group phases, and instructs practitioners that successful implementation requires consensus among all affected parties.
Performance Improvement Interventions: Enhancing People, Processes, and Organizations through Performance Technology contains useful information for all HPT practitioners—those who are just entering the field of HPT and those who have been implementing performance solutions for years.
Amazon.com
Written for those with some background in software engineering, Automated Software Testing: Introduction, Management, and Performance delivers a rigorous guide to the state of the art in managing automated testing in a text that will benefit anyone who tests software for a living.
First and foremost, Automated Software Testing presents a methodology for test managers called Automated Testing Lifecycle Management (ATLM). This soup-to-nuts tour of testing takes you from initial planning, budgeting, and staffing to building a test plan and choosing test tools to executing tests and even improving your testing process the next time around. Though somewhat thickly written--with plenty of software engineering terminology--this book can also be useful to more practically minded readers because of its many sample test documents. (Besides numerous lists and charts outlining the steps in the ATLM process, the book presents a sample test plan, budget estimates, and staffing guides.)
A truly standout feature is the book's survey of currently available automated tools that can be used throughout the testing cycle, as well as how to choose the right ones for your next project. For many software testers and managers, this section alone is probably worth the price of the book.
As this book points out, test engineering is a growth field. While schools and businesses work hard to meet the demand for qualified testing professionals, this title can provide a solid guide to the best thinking on automated testing solutions that will save time and money as well as improve software quality. --Richard Dragan
Topics covered: Theory and practice of automated software testing, the Automated Testing Lifecycle Management (ATLM) process, test analysis, planning, design and execution, white-box and black-box testing, metrics, and choosing testing tools.
Customer Reviews:
Best Automation Testing Book Ever.......2006-09-01
This book as far as I am concerned is best automation software testing book written ever.
Cut out the bull.......2002-12-03
Unfortunately this book (like nearly all other books on software testing) does not teach you how to test software. Instead it only gives you information needed to manage software testing. And, like many other books of management, it is highly repetitive and redundant. For somebody needing compressed information this is the wrong book. I think it would be no big deal to reduce the number of pages to 50% and still deliver the same message. The exmamples given in the text read like from a psychology book, not like from a technical book. Despite my critique I have to admit that the annexes in the book can be highly valuable. Personally I liked best the review of the big number of test tools.
Excellent Book for implementing Automation.......2001-09-28
This is one of THE books if you plan on implementing automated testing in your software shop. Covers everything from Lifecycle to tool evaluations to best practices. This one that is definitely on my "bookshelf on the go" that follows me to all projects. I especially appreciated the Appendix with real world stuff and references to tool manufacturers. Great work!
You'll Need This Guide to Implement Automated Testing.......2001-04-26
I recently joined a firm that simply wanted to purchase an automated test tool within two weeks; "it made little difference which tool". Using this book, they became convinced we should install at least three tools, on evaluation. Good thing we did: we found that only one could deal with "customized" Java applets used in their applications.
Little did our test team know beforehand that new automated tools require evaluation: what technologies are your applications using? what levels of test planning and scripting skills will be required for each tool? what other tools may be necessary sooner or later? and, does your test tool vendor of choice market such complementary tools? And much, much more.
"Automated Software Testing" guides readers through each step in the planning, selection, and implementation process to assure that automated software testing will be developed in a systematic manner.
See the table of contents. You will find that for less than the cost of a testers time for two hours, your business will be investing in knowledge that will save perhaps hundreds of thousands of dollars over the life of your applications.
A Compilation of Generalizations.......2001-03-15
As an engineer involved with software QA for a number of years, I found the book to be so generalized as to be essentially worthless. The authors devote page after page to explain methods and procedures with diagrams that depict the intuitively obvious. Their ATLM (Automated Test Life-Cycle Methodology) is as complicated as diagramming the Earth's water cycle. I don't need to spend Forty odd dollars and peruse 600 pages to learn that I might be able to use some nonspecific automated testing tool somewhere along the software development process.
Book Description
Real Application Clusters (RAC) and the Grid architecture are Oracle's strategy for scaling out enterprise systems to cope with bigger workloads and more users. Many books limit themselves by conceptualizing and theorizing about RAC technology, but this book is the first to portray implementing and administering an Oracle 10g RAC system in a Linux environment. This book features basic concepts underlying Linux and Oracle RAC, design strategies, hardware procurement and configuration, and many other topics.
The RAC-specific technologies described include configuration of the interconnect, OCFS, ASM, Cluster Ready Services, and Grid Control. The Oracle features RMAN and Data Guard are also discussed, along with available hardware options. The authors include practical examples and configuration information, so that upon reading this book, you'll be armed with the information you need to build an Oracle RAC database on Linux, whether it is on a single laptop or a 64-node Itanium cluster.
Customer Reviews:
great book........2007-10-07
This is really a nice book to have.
Contents are solid and clear.
The best RAC book so far.
It's eye to improving processes and manageability can't be beat........2006-10-14
Any programmer or designer who wants a step-by-step tutorial to Pro Oracle Database 10gRAC on Linux must have this book: it surveys all details from installation to advanced administration and optimization, with chapters covering installations across multiple servers for all Oracle users. The book delivers RAC on Linux solutions through a series of explanations on configuration, tips on techniques, and more: it's eye to improving processes and manageability can't be beat.
Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch
Well worth the wait. Great job on Oracle 10g RAC for Linux!!!.......2006-08-23
Good book on how to implement RAC and Linux. I enjoyed the deep theoretical and practical coverage on RAC performance and design issues for Linux. Highly recommended along with Mike Ault's Oracle 10g RAC book.
Book Description
You can achieve performance levels once thought unattainableÐbut only when managers and workers establish clear lines of communication, and understand how their jobs contribute to the goals of both themselves and the organization. Performance Management is the comprehensive guidebook on how to establish a communication system to get top performance and value from each employee. It will show you how to conduct goals-focused performance planning meetings and performance appraisals and foster a true commitment to success within each employee. A meaningful tool for stimulating workplace cooperation, Performance Management will benefit the employee, the manager, and the organization itself.
Customer Reviews:
One of the better ones.......2002-12-29
There are probably a dozen or so books on this subject that are equally good, and I'm not sure that any book is significantly better than the others in that grouping.
I happen to like this book, and use it in my HR work and in my company. Its length and to-the-point style make it ideal for busy managers, and it is indeed about as practical as it can get.
Its strength though, is that it breaks out of some of the conventional thinking about performance management and appraisal. For example, it points out that performance problems can indeed be attributed to weakness in an employee, but may also be caused by problems in the actual system of work. In this respect it draws from systems thinking and takes into account some of the criticisms of Deming, Scholtes and others.
My favorite part has to be the idea of "no blame", and that the purpose of performance management and appraisal is not to punish or even to reward, but to identify barriers to performance, and work together with the employee to remove them, no matter where they come from. Since the goal is better individual performance which contributes to organizational performance, I think this is practical indeed.
There's a positiveness to this book. If you think performance management and appraisal are excuses to kick [behind] and blame people for failure, then don't get this book, get a whip and chair.
A waste of money and time........2001-03-23
Barring better judgement, I purchased this book. Most of the titles in this series are god and informative, but this one is so far off center, I cannot recommend it.
His solutions are absurd and have no practical application in the "real world" and are educational theory at best.
Don't purchase this book, don't recommend it - I want my money back!
The book increase my knownledge of performance management........1999-03-05
I have learned greatly from this book. It increase my knownledge greatly. Upon many researches on the internet and articles, nothing could compare to Performance Management by Robert Bacal.
Book Description
"Performance begins with focusing on outcomes instead of activities. In my experience, most people in most organizations most of the time do the reverse. They concentrate their efforts on the pursuit of activities instead of outcomes. As a result, they rarely set or achieve performance results that matter."
Today's performance challenges demand outcomes-both financial and nonfinancial-that must simultaneously benefit customers, shareholders, employees, and management. Therein lies a cycle of sustainable performance that functions as a framework to ensure your organization's goals are set, met, and balanced for today's business world.
Make Success Measurable! enables you to avoid activity-based goals that can go on indefinitely, and articulate aggressive outcome-based goals that are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound.
This is a how-to book, emphasizing outcomes as opposed to actions in setting goals. You'll learn how to: Set goals that matter to customers, shareholders, and funders. Set nonfinancial as well as financial goals and link them together. Understand and use outcome-based goals that support success while avoiding activity-based goals that produce failure. Select and use management disciplines needed to achieve your goals. Smith provides the what's and why's behind today's performance challenges and shows how to convert them into measurable concrete achievements.
Using an innovative approach, Smith divides each chapter into an explanatory Mindbook section and a practice Workbook section. The Mindbook sections provide descriptions and explain key concepts, frameworks, tools, and techniques. They seek to build your intellectual understanding of how to set and achieve the performance goals that matter.
The Workbook sections include detailed examples and exercises that you and your colleagues can use to practice the concepts, tools, and techniques put forth in the Mindbook section. Workbook exercises allow you to convert understanding into action-and action into results! "Doug Smith's work on performance and measurement has been an invaluable management resource for us. We believe that if you can't measure it, you can't improve it. Thanks to Doug, we can focus on the right measures to drive performance against today's many new and different challenges throughout our enterprise."-Leon Gorman, President, L.L. Bean, Inc.
"Make Success Measurable! is a practical and powerful step-by-step guide to setting and achieving the goals we all need to accomplish in a constantly changing and challenging world."-Charles Dolan, Chairman, Cablevision Systems Corporation.
"No one writes as clearly about today's key management issues as Doug Smith. Whether you're in a small eCommerce startup or a large, already established organization, the frameworks, tools, techniques, and exercises contained in this book are the only things you'll need to manage the performance that matters to your customers, your people, and your shareholders."-Steve Goldstein, CEO, eChores and former CEO, American Express Bank.
"Achieving results that matter-to donors and clients-is the true measure of success for any nonprofit organization. This book provides a thoughtful and extremely practical guide for setting goals and effectively meeting them. It is an absolutely indispensable tool for leaders and a model for good management."-Jenna Dorn, President, National Museum of Health.
Customer Reviews:
The Bottom Line of Success.......2002-08-12
Make Success Measurable! is definitely becoming the Bible at work. Very well written, and Smith's ideas are well-supported. We've received positive feedback from clients, and we've expanded our client base because of this good word-of-mouth. I strongly recommend Make Success Measurable! It's as good as Guerilla PR: Wired, which focuses on techniques to getting solid public relations coverage, especially nowadays.
Learn How to be SMART.......2000-10-05
You can rarely pick up a job description in the public or private sector that does not include a statement seeking "demonstrated experience and success working with the principles of quality management and a commitment to customer service." One of the cornerstones to quality management is the ability to focus on outcomes instead of activities.
Make Success Measurable is filled with practical techniques. Even more, it is a workbook, providing opportunities to apply new concepts to real work. Whether you want to be able to create more focus within your own work unit, be able to demonstrate tangible results to your manager, prioritize your own work by aligning your day to day activities with the most important initiatives, or coach customers who are seeking your expertise in developing performance measures, this book can help.
As a result of reading this book and trying the exercises, you should be able to:
1) Convert new visions, strategies, and directions into achievable outcome-based goals that can better yourself and others in your organization.
2) Set goals that are specific, measurable, aggressive, achievable, relevant, and time bound. (SMART Goals)
3) Set goals that matter to those expecting a return on their funding dollars.
4) Set goals that matter to you personally in terms of opportunities, rewards, and skills.
5) Choose from a variety of management disciplines to achieve your goals.
6) Set goals that matter to customers who want speed, quality, and prompt service.
Ten Management Principles for Leading Change.......2000-06-05
"I believe you will benefit from this book because the challenge of setting and achieving performance goals has become very confusing". Douglas K. Smith writes, "It has been more than 30 years since Peter Drucker wrote about the importance of managing for results. His work led to the widespread practice of management by objective. But an awful lot has happened in the past 30 years. The world of business and organizations has changed dramatically, turning many of Drucker's specifics (though not his wisdom) upside down. In the aftermath of total quality, customer service, time-based competition, strategic alliances, globalization, reengineering, core competencies, continuous improvement, innovation, teams, horizontal organization, benchmarking, best place to work, information technology, diversity, environmentalism, deregulation and reregulation, eCommerce, and privatization, those of us left standing in today's organizations are unsure about what performance goals and outcomes make the most difference and why. We know that setting performance goals is key to managing ourselves and others, but we no longer know how".
Douglas K. Smith organizes his book in four parts. In the first part (Chapters 1-4), he provides the background, concepts, tools, techniques, and frameworks you need to set specific outcome-based goals that matter to successfully navigate today's most pressing performance challenges. In the second part (Chapters 5-7), he focuses on helping you align and coordinate goals throughout your organization. In the third part (Chapters 8-10), he describes the management disciplines you need to achieve your goals and how to make choices among them. In the fourth part (Chapter 11), he concludes the book with a step-by-step design for building an outcomes management system in your organization.
In this context, in Chapter 10, he reviews the management disciplines you must understand in order to succeed in the face of change, and introduces the critical distinction between decision-diven change and behavior-driven change, and describes how to manage each successfully. Hence, he argues that most change efforts fall far short of their potential. Usually that's because leaders fail to address the deep behavioral changes they are seeking. And thus, he lists the following ten management principles as the heart of any successful change effort:
1. Keep performance results the primary objective of behavior and skill change.
2. Continually increase the number of individuals taking responsibility for their own change.
3. Make sure that each person always knows why his or her performance and change matters to the purpose and results of the whole organization.
4. Put people in a position to learn by doing and provide them with the information and support they need just in time to perform.
5. Embrace improvisation as the best path to both performance and change.
6. Use team performance to drive change whenever demanded.
7. Concentrate organizational designs on the work that people do, not on the decision-making authority they have.
8. Create and focus energy and meaningful language because these are the scarcest resources during periods of change.
9. Stimulate and sustain behavior-driven change by harmonizing initiatives throughout the organization.
10. Practice leadership based on the courage to live the change you wish to bring about.
Finally, he argues that if you expect others to change their behavior, you have to change yours. It's as simple and as hard as that.
I strongly recommend.
A useful and practical book........1999-11-27
This is one of those rare books that makes it points clearly and then guides your through exercises that reinforce its key messages.
I found the book incredibly helpful in preparing realistic plans that set you up for success. I have used it extensively to help me design major projects and I am well on my way toward measurable success on those goals.
Read this book and apply its lessons.......1999-03-04
Make Success Measurable tells you how to set business goals that matter for shareholders, customers, and employees. That is good advice, and it is backed up by "workbook" exercises that help you focus on what is really important. The "mindbook-workbook" format makes room for exercises that you can work on with your colleagues at the office. I found that the "mindbook" portion held my interest as an individual reader. I started getting REALLY interested about halfway through the book when Smith introduced the concept of "working arenas" - the different groupings of people (sometimes in multiple companies) that are necessary to achieve these goals. Smith explains that you need to shape your goals and methods to fit the appropriate working arena, rather than a pre-set corporate structure. If you work in a complex organization, you should read this book and apply its lessons.
I would compare Make Success Measurable very favorably to the Kaplan and Norton book on The Balanced Scorecard. The Balanced Scorecard tends to be vague and anecdotal on the subject of how to set measurable goals, and it is hard to finish. In contrast, Smith packs his book with original analysis and specific recommendations on topics like "Vertical versus Horizontal Management Disciplines" and "Injecting Creative and Personal Tension into Goals". The Balanced Scorecard presents a four way cause and effect chain from employees through process improvements, customers, and shareholders. Make Success Measurable presents a three way performance cycle as including employees who provide value to customers who provide rewards to shareholders...who provide rewards to employees and so on. The "process" piece doesn't appear in Smith's analysis, because focusing on process measures doesn't necessarily help anyone. In fact, it is a trap that can lead to meaningless work. Smith encourages us to focus on "outcomes" - measures that matter directly to employees, customers, and shareholders. This brings us quickly to reality and hopefully to consensus with our colleagues. Get real. Get this book.
Books:
- Looking Forward to Monday Morning: Ideas for Recognition and Appreciation Activities and Fun Things to Do at Work for Educators
- Magic Tree House Boxed Set 2, Books 5-8: Night of the Ninjas, Afternoon on the Amazon, Sunset of the Sabertooth, and Midnight on the Moon
- Maintaining Mission Critical Systems in a 24/7 Environment (IEEE Press Series on Power Engineering)
- Mapping Inner Space: Learning and Teaching Visual Mapping
- MISLABELED CHILD, THE: HOW UNDERSTANDING YOUR CHILD'S UNIQUE LEARNING STYLE CAN OPEN THE DOOR TO SUCCESS
- Never Check E-Mail In the Morning: And Other Unexpected Strategies for Making Your Work Life Work
- Organizational Behavior & SAL CDROM Pkg (12th Edition)
- Paintings of Paul Cezanne : A Catalogue Raisonne
- Parenting Today's Adolescent Helping Your Child Avoid The Traps Of The Preteen And Teen Years
- Pattern Classification (2nd Edition)
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- Born to Run: The Unseen Photos
- True Believer: Inside the Investigation and Capture of Ana Montes, Cuba's Master Spy
- Sous Vide and Cook-Chill Processing for the Food Industry
- Robust Design: A Repertoire of Biological, Ecological, and Engineering Case Studies
- The Oxford History of Western Art
- Volatility and Correlation: The Perfect Hedger and the Fox
- The Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier: Coat of Honey — Heart of Gold
- Critical Modernism: Where is Post-Modernism Going What is Post-Modernism
- Scanning: The Aberrant Architectures of Diller + Scofidio
- The Nepticulidae of Eastern Europe And Asia: Western, Central And Eastern Parts
General
| Business & Investing
| Subjects
| Books
Performance Dashboards: Measuring, Monitoring, and Managing Your Business
Performance Dashboards and Analysis for Value Creation (Wiley Finance)
Information Dashboard Design: The Effective Visual Communication of Data
Measuring Performance : Using the new metrics to deploy strategy and improve performance
: Business Process Management and the Balanced Scorecard : Focusing Processes on Strategic Drivers
