Resources Books

I must say this book is a real gem. It is small but contains some good information. Half the book is information on solar cooking and it even tells you how to build two simple solar cookers from things you probably have around the house or can get cheap. The other half of the book contains recipes for cooking with your solar cooker. Excluding the recipes, the book can be read in a few hours at most. After which you will know enough to be able to build your own solar cooker and be cooking in no time. The book also gives sources for buying a cooker should you really want to do so.

I built a panel cooker in about an hour or two following the easy instructions. The next day I cooked a meal with it using a recipe I modified a bit to work with the cooker. It turned out better than I thought it would to be honest. I have cooked several dishes using the cooker now and everything has turned out great. I personally find the food to be of better quality than the typical high heat cooking usually done on stoves and ovens.

Most recipes can be adapted to be cooked with sunshine so you are not limited to what is provided in the book. As the book says a general rule is a conventional recipe will take about twice as long to cook in the solar cooker. I found this to be about true, though it might take just a little longer but doubling the time seems to be about right.

If you are interested in learning how to build a solar cooker and start cooking with one then I recommend getting this book. It keeps things pretty simple and easy while still giving you the information you need to start cooking good meals with free energy from the sun.

Just picked up the book yesterday and read it from cover to cover last night. Great opening section about how solar cooking works. I haven't seen it explained more clearly anywhere else. Great explanations on how to build your own- two types. And the recipes look wonderful. I'll be trying many of them when I finish building mine.

I usually preview my books by borrowing them from the library to see if they are worth buying. This is one that I chose for my personal collection.

I also checked out "Cooking with the Sun" (by Halacy and Halacy), which had some good introductory information and interesting-looking recipes. However, as soon as I got to the list of supplies needed for actually building their solar oven (plywood, fiberglass insulation, 1/16" thick aluminum or iron sheets, double-strength window glass, etc.) I gave up. My tools are limited to hammers and screwdrivers, and I didn't even know what some of the required items were, much less what to do with them.

This book, by contrast, has wonderful, step-by-step, illustrated directions on how to make a solar oven (box cooker) using simple stuff I have at home (cardboard boxes, newspaper, aluminum foil, turkey oven-roasting bag, Elmer's glue, etc.). There are also simple-looking directions for making a reflective-panel cooker.

I love how this book caters to the average Joe (or Josephine) who wants to cook with solar but doesn't want to spend a bundle to get started. The book gives lots of recommendations for improvising inexpensive options in cookware, explaining what works best and what doesn't work so well (and why!). For example, two dark 9" cake pans held together with large binder clamps (those things used in offices to hold large quantities of paper together) can work just as well as an expensive enameled dutch oven.

This book is easy to read and use. The information is presented clearly and it is easy to understand. This book is a great source book to teach yourself solar cooking. It is also easy to include younger children. Older children could pick it up and teach themselves from reading it. The recipes are of a wide variety so there should be a favorite for just about everyone. It isn't too "new age" as some other books on this subject. Outlines food safety issues very well with easy to remember rules and suggestions for building your own solar cooker. Easy enough for a child to do.

You must try the Asparagus Pesto! By my calculations, a batch of this makes more and costs less than store-bought pesto. (Also less oily, if you wish.)

Lubit's volume, "Coping with Toxic Managers and Subordinates," should be considered a standard reference for veteran and new professional staff, experienced and beginning managers, and leaders of all non-profit organizations, especially cultural ones. Colleagues have said that these conclusions apply to all organizations.

Non-profits and cultural organizations face major management challenges today. For example, while the number of museums has increased, there has been a great decrease in total funding. To stay competitive, these organizations have had to make fundamental changes in their operations and rely on a new breed of managers and professionals. This has been complicated by strong internal resistance to change. As a result, many cultural organizations find themselves unable to harness the talents of their staff and, instead, find productivity decreasing and morale dropping rapidly. High turnover, unhappiness and anger make for unmanageable environments.

Lubit's book contains excellent strategic thinking for dealing with the rapidly changing settings. Incorporating insights from experience in psychiatry, business management, and organizational leadership, Lubit provides a a comprehensive, hands-on guide for dealing with your superiors, subordinates and peers. This book is very complete. It describes the most troublesome types of negative and "toxic" personalities, explores the underlying reasons for the behaviors, and moves the reader from theory, to examples, to exercise sections called "Your Turn". The book is well organized, snappily written, and easy to use. It is complete with detailed "how to" sections, charts, and examples with both good and bad endings. This book will facilitate not just survival, but productivity and well-being in the workplace -- and elsewhere. I recommend it highly.

Beginning with its title, a real "grabber," Dr. Roy Lubit's new book "Coping with Toxic Managers, ..." holds your interest as it exhaustively and brilliantly organizes, classifies, describes and analyzes the entire spectrum of toxic behaviors to be found in the workplace. Any workplace. The book deals comprehensively with toxic behaviors from peers and subordinates as well as superiors. I think it will be recognized and appreciated as an invaluable contribution to the literature. The references alone are worth the price.

If that were all Dr. Lubit did that would be enough to distinguish this book, but he also gives detailed prescriptions for dealing with every type of behavior discussed in the book. These are often presented in the context of case studies and examples that make fascinating and satisfying narratives in themselves and allow Dr. Lubit's insights to really sink in.

Dr. Lubit, an experienced and recognized forensic psychiatrist and holder of an MD and a Ph.D. from Harvard, does an outstanding job of marshalling an array of toxic behaviors and codifying it in a manner that is understandable enough to be mastered by a college student yet profound enough and broad enough to be of great value to other professionals and to his peers. This book is scientific yet should prove of practical value to anyone who needs to manage, understand or otherwise deal with any business organization or, indeed, almost any human group in modern America. It does so in terms that anyone can understand and put to use. "Coping with Toxic Managers . . ." is one of those truly rare books which combines accessibility with depth, and I recommend it highly. Ronald Blum, Ph.D.

I wasn't sure I would like this book. The topic of workplace psychology can be done wrong in so many ways. You can present it too clinically and thus lack any practicality. And you can slide the other way and shower the user with pop psychology check-lists and acronyms.

This book walks the ideal path deftly and presents practical workplace issues with the right blend of psychology background and practical wisdom on how to handle individuals with personality issues.

The book is organized by disorder. Each type of personality is presented in it's own chapter with what to look for. As well as how to handle that individual as a boss, a coworker and as a subordinate.

A fascinating read on it's own, and practical advice for people stuck in tough jobs where they have to contend with coworkers who have personality problems.

This book is an excellent handbook for managers who struggle with motivating 'challenging' people. It enables the reader to quickly identify types of toxic managers and provides guidance on effectively dealing with each type. Should be required reading for anyone responsible for improving company/individual performance.

Recognising what is toxic to you is perhaps a good starting point. Many of us spend more time with the people we work with than those we've chosen to spend our lives with. Most of us make assumptions that what offends or upsets us is the same for everyone else. This is not so.

In this book, Dr Lubit provides - with humour - descriptions of different types of managers and of different management techniques that can make working life hell.

Being aware of toxic behaviour and being able to manage its impact are two quite separate things. Dr Lubit provides insights into the former and resources to help individuals and groups deal with the latter.

I've had this book on my management bookshelf since it was published and find it an excellent resource both on a personal level and as part of mentoring other staff.

Highly recommended.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

Counseling with With Our Councils, was inspiring and instructive. It changed the way I administer- now and in the future. A must read for church leaders.

I enjoy reading this book. Elder Ballard said, "The Lord's church is organized with councils at every level, beginning with the Council of the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and extending to stake, ward, quorum, auxiliary, and family councils." Elder Ballard teaches the importance of counsels to solve problems. A council provides valuable feedback and ideas that have significant impacts in a ward. In one case, a deacon advisor influenced the deacons quoroum to improve attendance, the ward was influenced and attendance increased and eventually impacted was felt at the stake level. Revelation, priesthood authority, and council combine to provide quality service, needed stablity, and needs safely met.

Focus on people. Council meetings should keep coordination and calendaring to a minimum. The best resources and talent are available and time is precious, use the time to talk about people's needs. Information discussed in councils should be confidential. Elder Ballard says, "All councils in the Church should encourage free and open discussion by conferring with one another and striving to have clear, concise communication. Councils should discuss objectives and concerns, with mutual understanding being the ultimate goal."

Sometimes a leader will voice his decision without counseling with his council. Priesthood leaders exercise authority to make decisions. Priesthood leaders lead with love and good example. Leaders have the benefit of the council; spiritual gifts are associated with the responsibilities of the members; and unity and purpose provide a powerful force.

The reviews given are very accurate. May I add that this is a must read for anyone serving in a leadership position in my opinion. Elder Ballard illustrates the how and why we should use councils within the church. He also includes a chapter on using councils within the family that I found very effective.

I would also recommend Leadership for Saints in conjunction with this book. I found that Leadership for Saints expanded on leadership topics beyond using councils.

If you remember, several years ago, Elder Ballard gave the same talk back to back in general conference. Remember the subject? It was on councils (See "Ensign," November 1993, "Strength in Counsel," "Ensign," May 1994, "Counseling with our Councils.")

This book is in response to those two topics, so consider this a course in ecclesiastical management and religious organizational behavior. We are not using the Church councils properly, and this book is one apostle's attempt to put us on the right track.

So often leadership is equated with office, or is seen as bossing people around. This is not only wrong, but is dead wrong. We have so many pairs of eyes in our wards and stakes: the elders presidents, the high priests, the Aaronic Priests, the Female's Relief Society, and every other auxiliaries, we are literally dying of thirst right by an artesian well.

This book has really opened my eyes. I think that we have all the helps we really need under our noses. The key is for the leaders to open the floodgates and let the people get busy. People in the ward have ideas and insights that the priesthood leaders may miss.

The whole sum of creation was began with a grand council. This is the eternal example for all of us.

Without exception this book is one of the greatest of its time. Not only does the author give accounts of how the saviour counseled others but how to apply the same principles in our everyday world. A must read for all practioners of the faith.

This is an excellent book, especially for HR/C&B practitioners. Like most HR topics, reward strategy is common sense and this book structures it neatly. A fantastic reward strategy framework - shows the inter-related nature of all stratgies and the operationalised details of a compensation strategy.

The book is comprehensive, yet accessible.

Nice to have all the PowerPooint slides on CD in the back cover, too.

This book is an excellent resource for HR professionals, compensation specialists, and line managers alike.
Well written, with great models and thought processes, yet pragmatic in its approach, this book provides a great fresh look at how to motivate employees to achieve business results.

This book is an absolute must-purchase!...
Compensation and HR professionals in general can derive great insight and value from this work. I recommend it strongly as a cornerstone of every business person's professional library.

An absolutely wonderful source of information for compensation professionals, HR professionals, and managers of all functions.
This book is a very hands-on, pragmatic handbook for building the rewards systems and structures, which will allow an organization to win the war for talent. I recommend it highly!...

If you enjoy working with university textbooks, you'll appreciate this book. It feels like a college text. It looks like a college text. It's filled with graphs and charts like a college text. It's seasoned with case studies in call out boxes. There are endnotes, as well as a bibliography. The index is so full of references, a smaller type was used-perhaps to save space.

The authors' message is that the secret to developing a creative and effective rewards strategy is based on a combination of Money, Mix, and Message. The Money aspect addresses the value of the reward(s) to the employee. The design of the plan, constructed to meet employer and employee needs, is the Mix. The Message deals with what the employer wants to communicate to its employees about appropriate values and the company's expectations. The authors describe their approach as "M3," emphasizing the need for a good balance between the three factors.

Readers will explore more than a hundred practical tools for building what they call the M3 Reward System. Financial rewards are integrated with non-financial rewards. Application of the step-by-step strategy promoted by the authors is a CD-ROM that is loaded with tools, exercises, and techniques to equip readers to tailor their own strategies to be consistent with company needs.

The authors are consultants with considerable experience in serving dozens of Fortune 500 companies. The orientation of the book, understandably, is toward larger companies. Smaller firms will still get a lot out of this text, but may have to invest some serious study time to get the full benefit of the package. The stories relating the authors' experiences are illuminating and add value for the reader who wants to gain the deeper understanding of how customized corporate reward programs are put together and managed.

Hefty price, but fully loaded.

My students enjoy these word puzzles. It's great for improving their vocabulary. They get to play with the language!

This is a solid book for building elementary vocabulary. It has 100 reproducible word study lessons that help kids boost reading, spelling and phonics skills independently. Among the many activities, kids read clues on each rung, then change and rearrange letters to create words until they reach the top. All the while, they are boosting decoding and spelling skills, broadening vocabulary, and becoming better, more fluent readers. Lesson by lesson, kids can "climb" to new heights in reading and writing with these engaging word-building games.

The workbook is not thick (about 100 pages). My child finished it in 2 months with a lot fun. His vocabulary improved significantly. In Beestar online assessment, his reading has rised to the next grade level largely attributed to this workbook. Highly recommend.

This has been a big hit in my second grade classroom. We are learning new vocabulary each time we use on of these sheets. It has been a good buy for me!

I often use pages in this book for morning "do nows" for a fun and engaging way to encourage students to play with words and be exposed to spelling patterns.

My daughter absolutely loves doing these. They are a wonderful complement to the spelling program we use, called Sequential Spelling.

As an executive assistant to a CEO of a major corporation, I always have to be prepared for the unexpected. This book articulates the best possible way to be prepared: in a methodical fashion. It offers a simple, easy to follow checklist that can be applied in almost any situation - professional or personal. The best thing about this book is that regardless of the field of work you are in, the book applies! It's a great read for anyone who wants to be the best at what they do (and who wouldn't want that?) Highly recommended!!

I loved this book. I wish I had read this book back when I was a teenager. Better yet, I wish I had remembered to apply its messages when I tried to start my first few businesses. As a SCORE counselor I find myself preaching, yes preaching, to most of my clients about the importance of researching and writing a sound business business plan BEFORE they file for incorporation or register an LLC, get a bank account in the company name, and start generating revenues. And I read this book last night in order to see if I should recommend it to my clients so they MIGHT get the message that a sound busness plan will be their key to success. Now that I've read it - Yes, this is the book a wanta-be entrepreneur should read in order to KNOW they need a sound WRITTEN business plan.

This book has 14 chapters and an appendix:

1. Put me in coach
2. I would like to thank the Lord Jesus Christ and Eric Mangini
3. What's your destination? Understand your objectives
4. Someone, somewhere has done this before. Plan with precedents
5. What's the forecast? Know the alternatives
6. It's in the best interest to know their interests. Define the interests
7. Look before you leap. Set your strategy
8. When the rubber meets the road. Do a timeline
9. The right parts for the right people. Pick your team
10. What you say and how you say it. Write the script
11. The constant preparer. Adjust and learn from your mistakes
12. Confidence
13. Prepare and conquer. A mantra for effective people
14. You can get some satisfaction
Appendix: The preparation principles checklist

Chapters 1 and 2 are kind of an introduction to the book. Chapters 3 through 11 are the various preparation principles that one follows in order to hedge their bets at being successful. All these principles are important to consider when writing a business plan for a new business or doing strategic planning for an existing one. And chapters 12 through 14 cover the benefits one receives from doing the proper preparation.

The material contained in this book is obvious stuff. It's unfortunate that most of us need to be reminded that planning and preparation for a game, whatever game that is, is necessary if we want to do well. Is it a sporting competition? A test in school? A job interview? A management meeting? A contract negotiation? A closing? Qualifying for a loan? Starting a business? Or selling a business? All the big things I have accomplished in my lifetime I planned for and done the required preparation in order to succeed. Read this book and be reminded that you too must plan and prepare for the things that are important to you. 5 stars!

Life changes and if you want to be better prepared - this is the book. It provides easy to understand strategies, once put in place, will make you a better competitor. It's a must read for those who like to win!

Success stories from the people interviewd by the authors are what makes this book really come to life. Even though the people profiled in this book are from so many diverse professions, the power of preparation carries each of them to the top. I especially like the book's core philosophy - preparation is the only aspect over a situation that one has control. Shapiro and Jordan have cleanly mapped out a systematic approach to preparation that everyone can put into place immediately after finishing this book. They even give you the preparation checklist as an appendix. I use it for every one of my sales calls, and I have noticed a BIG increase in confidence, which has allowed me to close more deals.

Dare to Prepare is probably the single most useful how to book I have ever read. And the stories are entertaining, so in addition to the tangible tools the book lends, it is also a quick read. If you're looking to improve upon your confidence so that you can perform at a higher level, check out this book.

I desperately needed this book. Not because I'm not successful; I've won many awards in my field and the last time my employer made me take a cognitive test I astonished them by getting a perfect score. No, I needed this book because I want something more. I want the next level up, the bigger stage. You know the level I'm talking about, the big-gun level. And on that level, as one person in this wonderful books states, "EVERYONE is talented." You have to be more than just talented, you have to be prepapred.

And so we have "Dare to Prepare", a brilliant distillation of the anatomy of success. The book urges to you to prepare until failure is not a possibilty, and to not waste time in the wrong types of preparation. I will not outline the tips here, as they so beautifully intergrate into the whole. People from all professions are interviewed, people with nothing in common except wild success and serious, serious preparation skills. The steps to being fully prepared for opportunity if it comes knocking and even if it doesn't flow perfectly into one another; I can safely say there isn't anyone who wouldn't benefit from following them, no matter how good you may think you already are.

That's pretty much it. A short review for me, but there isn't much more I can say. I picked up the book on a whim, began reading before bed in an effort to fall asleep, and ten minutes later was wide-awake, completely wired. Shapiro's little masterpiece will excite you, inspire you, and guide you like nothing I've read in a very long time. And in the Codemaster's book, that gets "Dare to Prepare" the rarely bestowed-

GRADE: A

I strongly recommend this book for people planning to start-up their first business, those becoming supervisors for the first time, and those who are entering human resource positions . . . as well as those who do not know how employment law currently works.

Most problems with employees begin with incomplete or poor communications. This guide is just as good at helping with those communications as it is with understanding how the law applies to situations that arise.

As an attorney, I found the legal information to be complete and accurate (often providing summaries and references to state laws, as well as federal ones). As a management consultant, I found almost all of the advice to be pertinent and up-to-date with best practices. The only exception was that many management experts now discourage annual reviews in favor of continuous feedback (which is also encouraged by the book).

Have you ever fired anyone? It's no fun. The book's description of how events should lead up to that, and how to handle the event for all concerned is wise and helpful for anyone who is about to have to do that. Even if you have fired people before, you can probably get some good ideas in this book for how to do it better.

If you don't have a system for progressive discipline (feedback that improvement needs to be made), you can get what you need here to design and implement such a system.

This guide will also be helpful to disgruntled employees who wonder if they should seek out an attorney. The section on how to find an employment attorney is equally applicable to companies and employees.

I was pleasantly surprised to see that after going into firing, the book also takes the reader back into hiring to see how to avoid hiring people in the future who will have to be fired.

In total, this book surpassed my very high expectations. Nice job!

After you finish reading this book, think about how the principles of good communication and fairness developed in the book could be applied to working with customers and other important stakeholders as well.

This Nolo Guide is an excellent discussion in plain English of the many things that are involved when you are dealing with problem employees. In 10 chapters, the book covers all the important topics from understanding the problem, employment law basics, and handling complaints, to information on how to fire, planning for the aftermath, and hiring a lawyer if necessary.

Nolo Guides have always been a small business owner's best legal friends but they are useful to almost anyone that wants to have a better understanding of the law before consulting a lawyer (as this saves on money you would have to spend getting educated). This book is no exception and provides very valuable information and advice on how to handle difficult situations with problem employees.

One of the best sections that I found useful were in the chapter on Employement Law Basics. Over the years, working as a Manager in various companies, I had heard of Employment at Will but didn't fully understand its implications. I had signed several employment contracts with my employers without realizing what they meant. After reading this chapter, it made me realize how many of those contracts were not enforceable! And now as an employer, I understand what kinds of contracts ARE enforceable so I can protect myself!

So I believe this book is helpful whether you are an employer or an employee to get a better understanding of the law. This book is NOT meant to replace the legal advice from a lawyer but to arm you with better knowledge before you approach a lawyer. I utilize the services of a lawyer on a need basis but I always read the Nolo books on the specific topic before my meeting. As a result of that, I have saved money by asking the right questions to my lawyer and in turn my lawyer has really appreciated working with a knowledgeable client! I wish I had access to this book when I was an employee as I would have benefited tremendously (as it turns out this book was published after 2001 by which time I had already started my own business). It would have avoided a lot of heartache as I misunderstood what I had signed and thought I couldn't do certain things when in fact I could. I also missed a couple of business opportunities as a result of that.

I hope you find this book as valuable as I did. I actually have more than 30 of their books on all kinds of legal topics. I plan on buying more whenever I can afford them. I have not been disapopinted by a single book from Nolo yet. Good luck!

I have given away quite a few copies of this book to friends who stepped into new management positions. Always, it seems, there is a situation that has been stewing for months if not years with a problem person. But dealing with the problem the RIGHT way saves money, the wrong way, well, you do the math. Sometimes problem employees can be quite clever at working the system to their favor. Other times, dismissing them or managing them improperly leads to a time bomb. Expensive any way you look at it, not to mention the time sink it can cause.

This book covers the high cost of problem employees, production and performance issues, drug and alcohol abuse, violence, morality, insubordination and absenteeism. Then it goes on to give an overview of the law. How to do performance evaluations, progressive discipline and then investigation and summary action. There is a chapter on planning for the aftermath of a dismissal or action, severance policy and how to terminate an employee properly (hint, don't do it in a van while the terminee-to-be is driving the van, something I've seen in my career and really CANNOT recommend as a safe way to fire anyone.)

This is absolutely a must on any manager's business library shelf. Cannot recommend it enough.

Dealing With Problem Employees is an excellent resource for most organizations, especially for start up companies. This fine book investigates key employment issues such as contract employees, sexual harassment, alcohol and drug abuse, developing performance appraisals, dealing with dangerous employees, interviewing, and countless legal issues. All of the above issues are discussed from a detailed point of view as numerous examples are cited illustrating the fine line between what is proper conduct and what is illegal. Very specific examples are given how to fire someone, provide fair job references, and conduct a disciplinary hearing that motivates employees to improve. The importance of having an employee handbook is emphasized greatly. The depth is so phenomenal that there is even a section on how to fire your employment lawyer when he does you wrong.

There are a few questionable sections on exit interviews. From my personal experiences, most firms blur the line between termination and exit interviews. In other words, when someone is terminated there is one meeting on the employees' last day explaining why he is being let go and all the benefits that this person is entitled to. Maybe some higher level management personnel may have some of these extended privileges. I realize that there are a few exceptions as the authors describe. However, from where I stand, most terminations due to performance consist of one meeting combining all the elements combined in the termination and exit interviews. Financial layoffs may vary.

Also the section of an employee being allowed to have representation in a termination meeting is slightly disjointed. I have never encountered such a situation for myself or anyone else. Perhaps there are a few unusual exceptions but truthfully I think the authors need to adjust their position at least a little bit.

Nonetheless, this is super book with outstanding legal references in every chapter. I can certainly overlook the two small weaknesses illustrated above as the strengths are great, numerous, and in great detail. I must emphasize that this is excellent reading for employers and even employers. Yes, employees should be aware of the many interpersonal and legal issues their employers face. In conclusion, a must have on all fronts.

This book is an excellent starter for anyone who is new to running a small company, and wants a better understanding of the legal pitfalls of employment practices and some practical advice on how to avoid them. The book does a good job in covering most of the basics of employment law, and in addition provides some tips on performance management, terminations, and investigations that should work well in the majority of situations.

There are a couple of areas where the book is a little light, and therefore a business owner or leader would want more information. The section and information on sexual harassment laws is weak, considering that the most common type of sexual harassment complaint (hostile work environment) is a broad set of very gray areas of risk determined by the employee. Little coverage is given to the legal definitions of sexual harassment, including how an employer may be liable if they "should have known" the behavior was taking place. Additionally more information on how to create a positive working environment, which avoids legal risks but is still a place where people want to work, would be useful. Additionally, most business owners would like to see information on how to better connect the dots between employee behavior, legal constraints and business results.

I also recommend that any leader wishing to employ these tips and practical information in their workplace first read one of the many excellent books on leadership, or how to motivate employees, and how and why to treat people with dignity and respect. The excellent and unusual leadership book, Leadership and Self Deception, is an example of a great companion for this text. Consider this book the "what" and "how" of what to do with legal employment issues, and others to really focus on the "why".

Overall, this is an excellent resource; it is well written and planned with easy access to information. The resources provided are excellent. The authors did a commendable job and taking often complex legal information and writing it in a way non-lawyers can understand and utilize. It is what it advertises to be, a legal guide. I think this will make an excellent resource for small business owners, and plan to give my copy to a friend who runs a small non-profit and is always calling me for advise of this nature.

This is a thorough and well-written book that would work well for the small to midsize business with a small or no HR department. It's loaded with sample forms and tips on creating a personnel handbook and step-by-step instructions on formatting, printing and updating it. There is a virtual plethora of pre-worded phrases, paragraphs, policies, letters, etc., as well as, possible reasons for including or eliminating certain portions.

The author even included a few sample personnel handbooks in their entirety. One merely needs to substitute one's own business info, as well as state and local specifics to make it your own customized handbook. The author also recommended you consult with an attorney regarding legal specifics and ramifications. Overall, it's like having a mini HR department you can "file away" in your bookcase at the end of the day.

Michelle Devon's DESIGN YOUR OWN EFFECTIVE EMPLOYEE HANDBOOK: HOW TO MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR STAFF comes with a companion cd-rom and provides a basic instruction manual to producing an employee handbook. While the cd-rom makes it easy to just fill in the blanks with company-specific information and policies, the book does a fine job of considering the ramifications of an employee handbook, from legal considerations to difficult subjects such as safety and harassment, drug testing, reduction in wages, and more.

As a small business owner, I appreciated the direct, instructional approach of this guide. Every business should have an effective employee handbook, but after receiving quotes for hundreds and even thousands of dollars to have one written for my staff, I decided to go it alone. I was still afraid that it would take me weeks to accomplish, but after reading Design Your Own Effective Employee Handbook I actually had mine finished within a week.

This guide contains every last helpful tip and important consideration you need to know before writing your own employee handbook. My staff now refer to it often, which has saved me a lot of time in training and answering questions - I now just send them to "The Book"! Devon's guide is well organized and easy to read, which is a good thing, since I didn't have a lot of time on my hands to sift through things I didn't need to know. Her guide walked me through the planning, writing and polishing stages from start to finish; what I ended up with was a comprehensive guide including everything from legalities and a code of conduct, to a new "no tolerance" policy - things I could not have written on my own. I saved a good deal of time and money in using Devon's book to guide me through the writing of my own employee handbook, which is why I believe it's a must-have for any business owner.

If you've ever tried to organize all the employee information from within a company then you have some idea of what type of job this snowballs into. There is so much material that needs to researched, compiled and organized and properly written that most people don't even want to think about the review process and getting final approval. And just when you think you have it all, you realize there are sections you've completely forgotten about.
This book leads you step-by-step through the process. It starts of with an excellent section on how to use the guide effectively. It then leads you through each of the major steps in the process. Comprehensive chapters cover every aspect of employee information, employee classifications and even a twenty page chapter on working hours.
The author was meticulous with details and generous with samples. She's included many sample forms, covering everything from Welcome to the company forms, Sample Time Sheets to Employee Handbook Acknowledgment Forms.
If you're in a position where you're wondering if your company needs an employee handbook and you're trying to figure out what to include and how to handle certain aspects, then look no more. This book has it all.

Devon's book provides a detailed guide for creating a company handbook that will both serve your employees as well as protect the company. She provides example handbooks as well as a pre-written template where most of the work is already completed for you. The book explains which policies to include in your handbook (such as employment "at-will", work hours and break policies, reward and recognition policies, how to handle nepotism, etc). It also explains what you should and should not state in your handbook to help you avoid legal conflicts. There are many sections which are useful, but I think the most important aspect of this book is that it gets you thinking about how to create your handbook and how to avoid potential employee relation problems in the future. It also helps inspire you to really figure out what your policies are and what you want them to be and then helps you put them in place. If you want to create an employee handbook, this book contains all the information you would need to complete the task.

Do your employees have the knowledge, information, and skills to make decisions and take action? According to the author, the answer to such a question lies in one word: learning. The author argues that a workforce of employees in a learning mode is the key to a company's success both now and in the future.

This book addresses four key issues that workplace learning must address: learning stages, context, learning styles, and desired outcomes. These issues are addressed with a learning system, for which the author presents a five-phase plan to creating such a learning system: exploration, envisioning, planning, development, and implementation/improvement.

The author also includes a sample of specific tools for developing an interest in learning, strategies, and programs for individual learning, learning in groups, one-on-one learning, and learning integrated into work.

'Linda Honold has produced the best book in its field. She shows clearly how learning and development can be a real force for positive change in organizations. The book is especially useful in focusing on practical, usable methods that can be applied in real life situations. It's also valuable because the approaches the book suggests are tried and tested. She comes from a background in organizational life so it's not some arm-chair theorising by an academic. Indeed I'd wish that the theoretical 'learning organization' folks would take note of this book. We need more practical, concrete approaches to improving learning not meandering theories.

This is a book that all trainers and developers should own.'

Linda Honold describes a system for helping everyone in your company learn to become more creative, responsive, efficient and team-oriented. She describes various techniques, including methods for developing an interest in learning and in self-knowledge, individual learning tools, mentoring, coaching and peer learning as well as strategies for helping people learn in groups. She pays particular attention to learning styles, drawing on the Myers-Briggs personality type system. This book speaks primarily to human resource professionals and to executives who might be setting up learning systems for their own companies. Others may find the book dry and overly concerned with the details of systematizing the serendipity of informal learning. But we [...] recommend this book to HR practitioners, and also to professionals delving into knowledge management, who will certainly benefit from this theoretical look at how people in companies actually learn.

Developing Employees Who Love To Learn: Tools, Strategies, And Programs For Promoting Learning At Work shows how any business scan create and implement a successful learning system that will improve employee performance and enhance company profits. Linda Honold (president and founder of Empowerment System, Milwaukee, Wisconsin) draws upon her years of experience and expertise to provide step-by-step, "user friendly" instructions on laying the groundwork for, and implement, the activities and programs that will generate meaningful, applicable employee learning. The informative text is augmented with numerous illustrative examples and features "The Learning Toolbox", a compendium of ninety practical tools and resources for creating a dynamic environment for both individual and group learning. Developing Employees Who Love To Learn is very highly recommended reading for corporate managers and human resource directors.

This book came to me just as I was grappling with the problem of providing a fresh learning experience for some 40 managers in a major retail company located near Los Angeles. The book was just what I needed to develop a learning plan that goes well beyond classroom-type training. The book provides a sophisticated learning model that is easy to understand and very practical.

The book is well organized. Ms. Honold provides a useful and up-to-date review of adult learning theory, but quickly moves on to present an impressive array of tools aimed at meeting the needs of people with widely varying learning styles. When it comes to learning one size does not fit all. (We seem to accept this idea for adults -- why not for younger students?)

This is a user-friendly book of great value to anyone who is looking for a fresh perspective on how to share information in an organization. There is a major emphasis on motivating the learner, a key point that often gets short shrift in books like this. Finally, and most importantly, Ms. Honold is obviously an experienced practitioner in creating enthusiasm for learning in a work setting. That experience is reflected throughout this excellent book.

This book was a fountain of knowledge. I am slightly overwhelmed after reading it. Every aspect of DI was described, breifly so you understood it and yet didn't spend hours reading it. The reason I bought it was because of the activity and response forms for both students and for myself as a teacher. These forms made the overwhelming infor easy to manage for lesson planning. The only thing missing was a chapter or reference to classroom management. DI is only as good as the classroom manager and as stated in Teachers Change your Bait (2005) by Martha Kaufeldt DI can be a "three ring circus..." (132). I do, however, reccommend this book for the information and response forms. I reccommend Kaufeldt's book as well.

Differentiation in Action is an outstanding resource! Well-grounded in theory, it provides teachers and administrators with excellent instructional tools and strategies that any teacher can use to differentiate instruction and performance assessments. Some strategies are quick and easy; others are more comprehensive. Judy shares a brilliant, user-friendly integration of Bloom's Taxonomy and Gardner's Multiple Intelligences. Using Judy's models, "tiering by complexity" can become a reality for teachers. This book is a must have for teachers and administrators having the "differentiation dialogue!" BLF, North Merrick, New York

Super book with clear explanations on theory and a wide variety of practical suggestions, templates and examples. Great for all classrooms including secondary.

Differentiation in Action presents a wealth of strategies, tips, techniques, and resources on differentiated instruction that is easy to use for all educators. I have used it with groups of teachers and they readily find ideas that can be implemented in their classes immediately. Each chapter presents a specific topic with the theory neatly complemented by a wide array of strategies, so the book would be a wonderful resource for a study group in any school setting. Judy has taken the best ideas and put them all into this one powerful, teacher-friendly book. A must-have for teachers.

I have known that differentiation in the classroom is key to student success. Practical application has been my stumbling block. Finally, a resource has surfaced that offers theory and practice! I was able to use the strategies immediately. The format of the book is easy to follow. I have already recommended it to my teammates. This is a must-read for classroom teachers. (I wish my own children's teachers would read it as well!) Another plus is the abundance of other resources, including websites for more in-depth information.