Organizations Books

I refer to this book on almost a daily basis. While it can be obscure, it the most thought-provoking and well-researched book I have found in the field of organizational psychology to date. The sections on the use of tacit knowledge to usurp existing knowledge or information systems bring theory headlong against existing practices and peer practics.

The process of generating knowedge is triggered off by the articulation of ambiguous, implicit insights into concepts, which are successively inscribed into more explicit and concrete forms of organizing. Such activities and practices have to do with "doing" as much as wth "knowing". Our activities are open-ended for they cannot be captured in rules, reciptives or normative models. Such insights are the forte of Philipe Baumard's book.

Philippe Baumard is seeking to stake out a distinctive domain - the use of tacit knowledge by top managers. Knowledge, especially tacit knowledge, provides sense-making frameworks within which top managers process information and make decisions. When sense-making frameworks prove ineffective - as they inevitably do in some situations - top managers misinterpret problems and they find themselves unable to generate successful actions.

I loved the book because I am currently struggling with a corporate program of "tacit knowledge management" and I have been looking for something precise for more than three years. Our corporation has more than 72.000 employees, and we needed very precise categories of what kind of tacit knowledge can be preserved in our organization. The book provides an amazingly precise framework, that we currently use in our company.

Much has been written about organizational change. The ability for an organization to successfully change and sustain the change is a key differentiator today's competitive world. I found this book was "manager friendly". I could quickly review the "Points to Remember" and "Common Trip Points" as listed in each task to ensure our team was focused on the right things. The Ten Tasks of Change is a ideal book to simplify every leader's most complex issue: change.
-- Don Langewisch, Performance Systems Manager, ChevronTexaco Corporation

I've just finished the Ten Tasks of Change and found it to be a practical guide to managing change. In my work in education, I find one of the most challenging hurdles is guiding people through change.

This book provides useful advice from the get-go, translating conceptual principles into plain language, as in "Swiss-cheesing the overwhelming.... poking a few holes in the task by getting on with what you can do now."

The authors also do an excellent job of synthesizing and building upon the work of others, as seen in their `Checklist for a Well-Designed Job'.

Lastly, I found it most useful that they not only stress what to ideally `do and attempt' when facilitating change, but also include advice on what to avoid doing, with a list of `Common Trip Points' at the end of each chapter.

Organizations are changing rapidly and unpredictably and such change has now become the norm for successful companies. Ten Tasks Of Change: Demystifying Changing Organizations provides managers and owners with a whole-systems approach to handling and modeling changes, using a basic foundation of planning and managing work to help changes take place smoothly. Chapters provide an easy, pragmatic approach to achieving the basics tasks of the framework presented by the authors.

Jeff Evans and Chuck Schaefer have created an excellent and multifaceted tool for anyone dealing with change - which reads like a road-guide but is not prescriptive - I am already using it to assisting the District of Columbia in creating a new State Level Department of Education, as well as a guide for developing "Requests for Proposals" for contractors helping the City reinvent/restructure its delivery of services.

As an organizational consultant working with local, state, and federal organizations for over 20 years, I have used and seen a variety of strategies/tactics to address a myriad of changes. This easy to use book is a unique approach that provides any user with a simple and effective methodology - that is clear and concrete - and at the same time avoids the danger of being "cookie cutter" in application.

The authors have done a remarkable job anchoring this approach in well researched and time tested theories, without overwhelming the user in the acedemics, and thus loosing site of the real purpose, the need for a powerful, practical tool that transcends the challenging paradox of change; it addresses the true comlexity and chaos found in most organizational contexts - i.e., it addresses the reality of the world we live and work in -in a wonderfully effective yet simple framework - Ten Tasks!

Thanks for capturing the approach that I have felt has been missing thoughout my 20 year career - the nexus of theory and application - in a clear and understandable form(I am glad someone finally wrote the book - and I wouldn't change a thing)!

Thanks, and Best Wishes

Bill Zybach

Business Process Manager, Office of the Chief of Technology Officer, Office of the Mayor, Washington, DC

Riane Eisler's new book is a stunning contribution to multicultural pedagogy. Using her macrohistorical theory of dominator/partnership swings, she offers a new framework, structure and content for education. This is one of the most important books to come around in a long time. I hope my children will grow up in a world that has realized the blue print for partnership education that she offers. Rigourously argued, detailed in documentation, this book offers and creates a new future for all.

Tomorrow's Children is an innovative and remarkable book for the contemporary educator. It provides an indepth understanding of the struggles of teaching and is an amazing resource for people looking to reform the educational framework of our country. This book needs to be in the hands of every parent, teacher and educator.

Eisler puts forth a formula for hope for a future that works for everyone. It does start with the children and every teacher AND parent should read this book...PLEASE!

Cudos to the author for putting forth a recipe for a more hopeful future for the world.

Riane Eisler's Tomorrow's Children is a thought provoker and conversation starter. So many education books are about getting the knowledge and skills to "fit in" to society's opportunities. Tomorrow's Children challenges the reader to expand their vision and expectations of education. This follow-up to the Chalice and the Blade offers practical and hopeful examples of how to access the "hidden curriculum" beyond textbooks and polemics. If you want to know how to find materials to encourage meaningful and relevant learning, this book is for you. If you want to know the specifics of making change in your local schools (concerning the content, process and structure of education) this book is for you. If you are interested in finding kindred spirits to promote practical examples of collaborative problem-solving, a peaceful response to adversity, gender equity,and environmental sensitivity this book is for you. If you appreciate thoughtful and thorough and careful writing free from jargon this book is for you. If you are interested in specific references of books, websites, curriculum packages and supportive organizations this book is for you. I am a Professor of Education. I am fussy about what I read in this field. I am drawn to clear and concise writing which honors the intelligence of the reader. Tomorrow's Children does not disappoint.

John W Kennedy does more for a simple and practical explanation of 'true' church history than any other author I have read! He contrasts the 'institutional' church (beginning in Jerusalem) with the 'primitive' church (beginning in Antioch). He shows how hard it is to change, no matter how much the truth is embraced. We would rather interpret truth according to our traditions than according to its source. Jerusalem struggled with the traditions of the past as the church grew. Antioch had little tradition to pass down and so more readily embraced what was happening at the time. This book develops the progress of the church largely unnoticed (primitive) by other historians, and at the same time the author brings in what was happening in the traditional church. What the author does not cover in church history does not take away from his purpose in helping us see what went on in the church that very few (if any) cover elsewhere. This is not just a 'history' book, but also a very practical guide for any serious thinker today who wants to know their 'roots' and desire meaning in what is going on! It also helps in knowing what to look for when seeking to obey God according to His Word, especially as it relates to fellowship among Christians. If I could only have one 'church history' book on my shelf, this would be it!

This is great book for anyone today who still has a pilgrim heart. Many have gone before us who honestly sought out the truth of God in their generation and this book connects the dots. I highly recommend this book as one that will deserve a prominent place both on your library shelf and in your heart!

This book gives a god review, not of organizational Christian history so much, but rather moves of the spirit centering on the word of God. One of the best truths that this book presents is the fact that Christians today (often referred to as evangelicals) are not a new breed. Bible centered, outreach oriented, non-ecclesiastical fellowships have existed since the beginning.
The book seeks not just to convey knowledge, but to help us learn lessons from past successes and failures of the church in a way which we can apply to our lives today. In this, the book has some deep insights. He describes the processes by which moves of the spirit are institutionalized; the pit falls to look out for while combating heresy, an interesting comparison on the life of Peter Waldo with St. Francis and the proper place of creeds and doctrine within the church.
Kennedy takes us all the way up to but not into the 20th century and, as it is only 250 pages, it obviously cannot cover everything. However, I felt it left some significant 17th-19th century things out. Jonathan Edwards, Charles Spurgeon, Charles Finney and late 19th century Holiness movements (to say nothing of the rise of Pentecostalism) gets no mention. The author seems especially to focus in on "brethren" type groups which had no ecclesiastical structure and hierarchy. In interpreting some events he gives away his opinions on some doctrinal issues such as the cessation of apostles and prophets, the need for a prolonged period before baptism and he seems to think there is no longer any special role for Israel in God's purposes, though I may be just be making assumptions on that point.
All in all, it's a good book. It gives good insights into our spiritual heritage which often are neglected.

Kennedy's succinct overview of the sweep of church history is enlightening to anyone, be they ignorant or knowledgeable of this subject. It is one of the best books I've read on this subject, and really stands out on it's own since the author comments profoundly at every stage of the developing events.

His comments make each page exciting, full of great meaning, and applicable to the present, rather than some books on history which are merely recitations of a boring string of facts. Kennedy brings out the fact of a repeating pattern of resistance against spiritual life, the fresh moves of God's Spirit throughout time----showing how man's attempts to corral this unstoppable force has caused misery, error, and great sin. The illustration of this reality is a great encouragement and source of strength to those persons at present who are being touched by the Living God with a new and vibrant experience---yet are being persecuted, ostracized and mocked by the established order wherever they may be.

Anyone who wants to have a knowledgeable overview of mankind's tendency to be spiritually arrogant or lazy at the expense of continuing maturity/Truth, needs to read this book. None other I have found approaches this topic with the same eloquence and deep insight.

This is the best book that I have read on the subject of leading a church through transformation. Ford's insights and practical applications are fresh and relevent. I would highly recommend it to any pastor or lay leader.

This is a great book! I wouldn't hesitate to encourage anyone who loves Christ and the church to thoroughly work through it. When I read Transforming Church, many of the events and circumstances of my more than twenty years of ministry began to make sense. Based on solid research and practice, Kevin Ford addresses the struggles churches and church leaders face in our culture. The stories of real congregations strained by personalized conflict, conflicting values and resistance to change made this not only accessible for me, but for the more than 30 staff and lay leaders in my church that have read it. That Kevin doesn't offer quick fixes and fast answers gave me confidence that this is the real deal. Like many church leaders I have been seduced by "successful" church models. Instead of throwing models at you, Transforming Church offers a systemic view of health and encouragement to do the work of transformation.

I love this book. For every 25 dollar book that comes out, there is generaly about 2 dollars in new material. Not in "Tranforming Church"
Thus far I've got about 12 dollars of new stuff. The author does state some obvious things, but no one is perfect. Good book!

This is a book I'm really excited about! I'm always asked by people at established churches how they can bring health and transformation to their churches. This is the first book I'll recommend. This book is also good for church planters because it's describing what the church should look like. It provides a way to gage your church as well as ways to develop your church. Way to go Kevin - this is a home run. Bob Roberts, Author of Transformation & Glocalization.Transformation: How Glocal Churches Transform Lives and the World

Michael Allen has a unique way of capturing the experience of teaching in an urban district with both humor and poignancy. His book is instructive to new teachers and verifying to veteran teachers. I would recommend it to any teacher or prospective teacher. It is destined to become a classic in education.

This has got to be one the truest accounts of what it means to be an educator in today's society. We are no longer teachers . . . as Mr. Allen so eloquently points out we have become surrogate parents, role models, friends, confidants, and finally teachers. Mr. Allen relates real life events that hint of humor because they appear so far fetched; unfortunately you just can't make this stuff up!!! Mr. Allen is, himself, a tribute to all the dedicated teachers and educators who return each and every day to parent, teach, embrace, nurture, raise, and love the most vulnerable of our society -- our children. Read this book if you have anything at all to do with education, whether a teacher, administrator, cafeteria worker, custodian, student or parent this book will touch one and all.

Michael Allen has written a hard-hitting, realistic book (with a realistic view) about education as it occurs outside the textbook. Its funny...startling...constructive viewpoint of education on Boston's cutting edge-the real-life classroom-rings with poignant distillations of days in the lives of Boston's finest: teachers, students and administrators.

Told as a series of vignettes, this book bites in places it shouldn't; yet, it soothes the soul knowing that in the hands of leadership which are as capable as are Michael Allen's , solutions to the many problems and encounters this book presents, are simply a matter of course...and flow...

If you are a professor, teaching case studies about any aspect of education; a curious reader, wondering what does go on in the Boston Public Schools, anyway; an aspiring teacher, curious about what you might be getting into; then, this is a must read, for you. These stories are written with the reader in mind. They are short, vibrant and tasteful bites from a slice of life in Urban Education.

I recommend it, highly!

Michael Allen has offered us a window into our urban schools. With integrity, dedication, compassion, humor and hope he has described what it takes to be "on the front lines" in educating our youth. This book is for anyone who wishes to be informed about some of the realities of today's educational system. Don't be surprised if you feel inspired by the challenge of teaching!

I found this book to accurately depict the changing landscape of the church in America. We need to raise the bar and create "high expectation" environments in the church that challenge people to high performance. We need "vision leaders" that inspire us to "do the impossible".. Great Book..

If it is a book by Lyle Schaller, then it is a book you ought to buy! No one in church assessment, analysis, consulting, and speaking can compare to what Lyle has to offer. He is the Cal Ripken and Energizer Bunny of church and denominational prognostication. Steal enough time from your busy schedule to thoroughly read this book.

When you take the time to read this book you will discover the details concerning three crucial issues surrounding congregations that have more than 800 in average weekly attendance: 1. We need more of them to reach the generations born after 1965. 2. A new rule book is needed to understand the congregation of more than 800 in attendance. The old rules do not apply. 3. Consumerism has changed the congregational game plan, and big congregations are a must during the third millennium.

Very large congregations have a can do attitude about new spiritual and strategic opportunities they believe are presented to them by God. They seemingly have no limits to the resources they have faith that God will provide through them.

This book is an excellent follow-up to earlier books by Schaller where he heralds the full-service, seven-days-per-week, family-focused congregation. One such book, published by Abingdon Press in 1992, is The Seven-Day-A-Week Church.

Lyle Schaller is a keen observer of churches, large and small. In this volume, he provides a contemporary update on the very large church.

As senior pastor a very large church, I have found this latest work to be an invaluable resource to help lay leaders and new staff understand. Schaller is able to bring the reader "inside" the day to day life of the very large church.

This book would be very helpful for anyone interested in helping his/her church grow. Also gives solid reasons why many churches are dying.

Illustrates trends in church with trends in the business world...i.e. large offers more choice for the consumer.

User friendly format makes for easy, quick reading.

As a liturgist, involved in my Synodical Worship Commission, I find myself reading a great many liturgical texts and history books. One of the single-most-useful books I have ever obtained has been Griffiths' "We Give You Thanks and Praise" in which the Eucharistic Prefaces of the Ambrosian Missal (a sub-rite of the Latin Rite in the Roman Communion) are collected in a stylistic, though accurate, English translation.

The Ambrosian Rite is unique in the west in the modern era for its literal plethora of prefaces (over 300, compared with about 100 in the modern Missale Romanum, 30 in the 1979 Book of Common Prayer, and as few as 5 or 6 in earlier editions of the Lutheran and Anglican rites). These prefaces not only flesh out the themes of the Liturgy in the Ambrosian rite, but provide those of us who do not celebrate that rite with deep wells from which to contemplate about how we phrase our prayers and praises.

I can't thank my friend Cody enough for referring this book to me, and this book has proved to be quite influential in the work I have submitted for consideration to the Liturgical Commission of the Synod of Saint Timothy. I hope that other denominations and jurisdictions will be able to find it equally useful.

I have been to Milan and con-celebrated Mass according to the Ambrosian rite. It was in Italian and mine is not good at all. So it was delightful to find a book that gave the prefaces in English. I am hoping someone will do a translation of the whole Ambrosian Missal someday. It is a beautiful Mass and the prayers provide fruitful subjects for meditation. If you want something a little different then you will enjoy this book.

I've received my copy of this from Amazon, and it is very nice: more than 300 prefaces very well translated (I think...at least stylistically, they're fine). And it's refreshing to see a useful liturgical book being published in a relatively inexpensive edition.

I could easily see them being adapted for use with, say Rite II in the Episcopal Church's Book of Common Prayer. Just lop off the formulaic first and last paragraphs and use the substantial, proper middle section with the BCP first and last paragraphs. Or not! They'd stand alone just fine with no lopping.

...after appropriate approvals from liturgical and canonical authorities, of course. Or with Rite III!

I've had my copy for a few months now and it's come in quite handy for use in the Daily Office as well. The central core of the prayers can also be used, with some editing, for a general prayer of thanksgiving outside of the Eucharistic context.

Some of the phrasing is occasionally odd and, although I don't have the original Latin in front of me, I suspect a bit too literal to the original. The texts occasionally need a bit of rewriting for use in contemporary liturgy.

Mr. Melendez's book is well-written and gives the reader a great feel for what it was like living through 60s and 70s NYC as a latino. I'm old enough to remember hearing the stories on the news, but reading them in detail is a different experience altogether.

I hope Mr. Melendez and his former colleagues publish more stories of these times and of the Young Lords. The work they did is still not part of regular curricula in NYC schools; more publications help to establish our history here in NYC.

I gre up during the 80's in west harlem, later the BX, went to manhattan center high school on 116 & pleasant ave .... you can't grow up anywhere in new york city and not recognize puerto rican pride, all you have to do is head up to Orchard Beach after memorial day, but it's a powerful part of the NY experience ....... I picked this up because of the Lincoln hospital story, and garbage offensives, these men and women are patriots of the black and latin community! The New York City minority community! great read, I learned about them in a american history class @ laguardia comm college, and was surprised I'd never heard of them before, I'd passed by lincoln hospital over 100 times, to hear about them being reason for it being built! I'll say it's a different time period now, but the children of NYC need to learn about this group, and movements like these, to learn discipline, and study the pride but learning journey of mister Melendez, then kids wouldn't get lost, because we are losing our city now as the rents are escalating, people are hurting now, and this knowledge is key to a new generation that needs to move forward and stand for something, not just accept circumstances, this book is excellent, powerful, and informative! True "hood", cultural, minority heroes! I'm glad and insprired by it

Miguel Melendez has given us a thoughtful,inspirational, and sensitive account of the Young Lords Party and also of the many pivotal events of his own life. I loved reading this book full of cultural tidbits and an insider's history of a group of dedicated individuals. This book offers important lessons for today's youth, many of whom feel no connection to the larger society. It serves as a tremendous contribution to young people by sharing positive ways to channel rage and frustration with one's social and emotional condition. The writer brilliantly shows what it is to search for meaning and purpose in one's life as he questions events occurring around him.

Quiero agradecerle a Mickey para haber escrito un libro tan bello que demuestra que todos tenemos el derecho a la humanidad y dignidad.

Micky Melendez has written an excellent easy to read history of Puerto Rican efforts for social, political and economic empowerment from the Young Lords Party in the 1960's to today's struggle for a Latino mayor of Nueva York. This monograph by Micky Melendez is a powerful weapon in Boricua's long walk to freedom. palante

This is a well written book that expertly envisions the story of Apple's early years. Rose provides an in-depth look at the people involved and draws out the fascinating stories that surround Apple's early existence. This is by far the most accessible and enjoyable account of Apple's founding. The only problem is that it was written in the early '90's and doesn't reach the amazingly entertaining last few years the company has gone through. If only Rose would write a sequel...

West of Eden reads like a novel which makes me wonder if it's all true. After having it gather dust on my shelves for years I finally decided to read it and it's fascinating. I had a hard time tearing myself away in order to get my final progamming assignment done. Whether it's all fact or not one thing's for sure: now that Steve Jobs has been back at Apple for a while I hope Mr. Rose writes a followup!

Incredibly fascinating book that takes you on an intense and vivid tour of how Apple was started and what went on behind the scenes. Highly readable and very tough to put down.

This is going to be a tough book to get but for anyone wanting to understand Apple Computer, this makes a perfect companion book to Jim Carlton's book, Apple The Inside Story of Intrigue, Egomania, and Business Blunders.

Frank Rose takes the reader from the startup of Apple to the many misadventures during the Macintosh era of Steve Jobs and John Sculley. Sadly the book ends in 1989 when mismanagement had long since become part of Apple's culture.

To understand why bringing back Steve Jobs to save the day at Apple can only cause more misfortune, the reader only needs to turn to page 160 where Rose writes, "Andy was reading a book about Atari that had just come out, and when they were on their way to Florida he passed it on to Woz. As he read it, Woz learned something he didn't like: Years earlier, before they'd started Apple, when he was working at Hewlett-Packard and Jobs had gotten him to design "Breakout" for Atari for a fifty-fifty split, the fee wasn't $700, as Jobs had said, but $5,000."

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