Business Systems Books

Meir Tamari, also the author of _The Challenge of Wealth_ and _Al Chet: Sins in the Marketplace_, here provides an excellent overview of Jewish ethics and economic life. Dr. Tamari presents a solid case that Judaism regards economic activity as legitimate and honorable, and at the same time dispels common antisemitic myths about Jews and money.

Beginning with a broad discussion of the limitations Judaism places on economic activity, Dr. Tamari then provides a short survey of Jewish economic history and a selection of responsa on economic disputes. He then devotes several chapters to such topics as tzedakah and taxation, clearly and cogently summarizing what Halakha says about each. The resulting volume will be of great value to anyone who wants to know what Judaism says about economic practice.

It will, however, be less helpful to those who want to learn something about economics -- though it should be added at once that (a) teaching economic principles was not Dr. Tamari's purpose in this volume and (b) at any rate his "sins" in this regard are at least no worse than those of standard mainstream economics textbooks. Still, a sounder economic approach would surely have made the exposition clearer on other topics.

Dr. Tamari is probably just bending over backwards to keep his discussion of Judaism free from commitment to any particular view of economics, while acknowledging that Judaism tends to favor the free market. Unfortunately he therefore sometimes writes that a "society" is free to allocate "its" resources by whatever "market mechanism" it wishes, from the free market to central planning -- ignoring both the economic fact that central planning is not a "market mechanism" at all, and the ethical fact that a State-run economy cannot help but violate the very principles of justice and righteousness that Dr. Tamari otherwise presents so well. In fact, these principles themselves would rule out communism and socialism completely; the institution of private property, together with its corollary prohibitions on theft and fraud, should have committed Judaism to free-market economics, properly understood.

The underlying difficulty here seems lie with Dr. Tamari's conception of what a free market _is_. I say this because he is constantly remarking that Judaism allows certain "distortions" of the free market, when in fact most of the "distortions" he cites are not distortions at all -- or at least need not be, depending how they are encouraged or enforced. (If I am not mistaken, Dr. Tamari studied at the London School of Economics, not exactly a hotbed of free-market thought. The fact that he recognizes an important role for the free market _at all_ is therefore highly commendable.)

All of which means only that Dr. Tamari is one of many people who could profit from a closer reading of Ludwig von Mises and other economists of the Austrian school -- at least to get clear what does and does not constitute a "distortion" of the free market (and in particular to get clear that Jewish religious/ethical observances do not constitute such "distortions"). This fact does not in any way tell against his fine presentation of Judaism's "take" on economics, but it does occasionally distort his presentation of important economic principles.

Dr. Tamari's book was an inspiring and illuminating read for me. My interests were both in (1)"jewish tradition and law", as relevant to question's of community economics and (2) in a better understanding of the traditional jewish view on social justice and ethics, as that interplays with economics. I was not looking for any sort of introduction to "economic theory" or even "jewish economic theory" (see the Ryan review).

As a practicing Jew I learned some additional historical and traditional detail of which I was unaware, relating to economic issues of Jews individually and as communities. I found the discussion of Jewish economics relevant to issues in my own modern life, issues with which I have been actively dealing.

I also learned (as was my original intention) relevant to my own professional interest in "social justice" (health care justice in particular, as it happens). I am sure this book will be valued by activists in environmental and social justice issues, who are for any reason interested in the basis in religious traditions for confronting such issues (or interested just in the jewish basis for some reason).

There must be a lot of people wondering today what the connections are between economic life (both national structure and in personal everyday economics) and a traditional ethical stance of any persuasion. They will find this book interesting.

Review by Michael Novak who holds the George Frederick Jewett Chair at the American Enterprise Institute. New York Times

"Since these intellectual foundations are now the inheritance of all of us, this hand book will be invaluable for teachers of business ethics today, of whatever religious or humanistic framework, for it serves as an intelligent guide to the longest sustained (and concrete) tradition in thinking about commercial activities in the Western world. Mr. Tamari helps us know ourselves a little better."

Review by Murray Levine "Ethics in Everyday Life" The Jewish Spectator 1987

Judaism did not develop a specific economic theory or system. Instead, writes Meir Tamari, "It proposes a moral-religious framework within which the theory or system must operate." The framework is that there is a divine economy that posits that the earth is the Lord's and man has an allotted share. It follows that we have the obligation to conserve and preserve our share. "Halacha is the practical means of applying to daily life concepts of God's ownership of material goods, man's stewardship of these goods, and God's active participation in man's economic success."

It is seldom that one finds such a wealth of material simply written by a scholar utilizing authentic Jewish sources still relevant in a single volume. Tamari writes comprehensively and expertly on Judaism's economics in the Halacha and in Jewish life.

I had an opportunity to take a 3 day course with Dan Graham. The book was part of the course. Using his book and seeing Dan in action is a great experience. This book will be near me at all times when I write. Thanks Dan!!

This is a phenomenal book that teaches a person how to write scientific-style documents such as peer-reviewed articles and technical reports. If you have problems with writing or struggle to quickly write a paper, this book will help.

Writing is a large part of high-tech careers, but the techniques of writing in a scientific/engineering style are not taught in school. Most of us learn from on-the-job training--resulting in a time-consuming and inefficient process. This book teaches a systematic process that will get you from no paper to a polished paper in a surprisingly short period of time. The left hand side of each book page covers a specific point. The right hand side has numerous exercises to help illustrate that point, and solutions to the exercises are included.

For me, the chapters on how to edit your document are worth the price of the book. I was never taught how to edit, and never realized that my editing technique was poor. I could recognize sentences in my document that I didn't like, but couldn't determine what was wrong with them. After working through chapters 9 and 10, I can fix these problems quickly.

So many engineers are excellent scientists and mathematicians, but are sorely lacking when it comes to grammar and writing techniques. This book acts as a textbook, a refresher, and a desk reference, all in one concise, easy-to-follow volume. The techniques presented in this book introduce a whole new system of writing and revision that will lead to more efficient document creation.

A must-have for any reference library, especially for any engineer who frequently writes reports, papers, and journal articles.

Engineers! Scientists! Physicians! Lend me your pinnae! Listen up you professional ladies and lads! This is THE writing course/guide/reference for folks who know everything about their area of expertise, and have NO idea how to write about it clearly, expertly, professionally... Even if you have some skill in academic writing, you can vastly increase the quality and readability of your prose using this book. And if you, like many of us, "don't have a clue" about how to turn out clear, concise and readable prose for your chosen audience - this book will teach you how to do it in a systematic, repeatable, easy to master way! This book and course is especially useful to intelligent, organized, experienced professionals who never quite "got" it when it comes to good writing. This book WILL make you an accomplished and confident writer if you take the time to work through it! No more "writing anxiety"...ever. As close to an educational "sure thing" as you are ever likely to find! I used this book in Graham's writing class, and for the first time in my life, at age 59, I "get" it... Guess what - it's a science, not an art! What a revelation...

Review from Legal Information ALERT, page 12, April 1999, Vol. 18, No. 4. Reviewed by Lisa Mecklenberg, Electronic Services Librarian, State Law Library of Montana, Helena, MT INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY The Year 2000 Computer Crisis: Law, Business, Technology. The Year 2000 is fast approaching. Will you and your computers be prepared? The authors of this timely book offer to help you answer that question by organizing their text in a logical, straightforward fashion. The book includes seven chapters, followed by a forms section, appendixes, a glossary, a bibliography, and an index. The first chapter serves as an introduction to the technical issues involved in creating a Y2K plan, with subsequent chapters focusing on developing this plan, audits, the Y2K implementation process, contracts, Y2K litigation, and insurance. The fact that the intended audience is lawyers highlights one of its strengths. By focusing on the legal aspects of Y2K, Scott and Reid steer attorneys toward the production of appropriate contacts, warranties, remedies, and performance standards. They also suggest ways to protect directors, officers, and companies from lawsuits involving Y2K issues. To that end, the forms section is very good, featuring "Sample Year 2000 Compliance Agreements," a "Sample Complaint for Year 2000 Failures," and both hardware and software inventory forms. Chapter 5, on contracts, contains helpful advice on various Y2K agreements, including license agreements, supplier agreements, and Year 2000 consulting/remediation agreements. Scott and Reid also address the availability of insurance coverage for Y2K liability, as well as strategies, claims, and defenses that will be used by parties in Y2K litigation. Both authors have a significant amount of practical experience in this area -Scott has 20 years of experience representing a number of computer and software companies and Reid has served as a litigation strategist, an expert witness, and a special master in complex computer trial matters. Issued in looseleaf format, The Year 200 Computer Crisis permits periodic updates as new Y2K developments occur -it includes a December 1998 update that expands the book by more than 200 pages. A noteworthy feature is a series of checklists (i.e., awareness, assessment, implementation) to assist in the process of making a firm or business Y2K ready that are easy to follow and understand. The appendixes are also quiet useful, as several groups that have implemented the Y2K preparation procedures outlined in the book are profiled. These include "A Year 2000 Preliminary Analysis Report" prepared for the State of Rhode Island and a Technical Note from the Federal Reserve Board on "Testing Personal Computers for Year 2000 Compatibility." There is also a helpful list of Year 2000 web sites. For those looking for a "hands-on," planning-to-take-care-of-the-office-crisis-yourself guide to Y2K, this book may be frustrating, as it doesn't offer a nuts and bolts approach to making computers crisis-ready. For those, however, who would like a comprehensive overview of the Y2K phenomenon and guidelines on how to proceed with the handling of Y2K problems for clients, this book would be valuable. However, you better get it fast -many of the implementation procedures for addressing Y2K problems should already have been initiated. It is also highly recommended for law firms, which may actually have to litigate Y2K issues.

I was extremely impressed with the scope and quality of the book. Warren Reid is the most knowledgeable person I know with respect to the technical and practical business aspects of the Year 2000 problem and his willingness to share his extensive experience and practical wisdom makes this book an enormously valuable tool to anyone assessing Y2K issues. Mike Scott has already established himself as one of the world's leading authorities on computer-related legal issues. By drawing on his many years of experience with the computer and multimedia industries, Mike provides legal and practical insights into the Y2K legal issues that every lawyer involved in the Y2K maelstrom will find extremely helpful. ...Congratulations on publishing such a timely and useful work.

I think when the year 2000 comes all tax payers are going to have to pay for the upage on the computers and I myself don't think that would be a good idea because they are going to raise a big arguement and lead to a bad fight against the upage on this Y2K deal. It will go before a grand jury and loose the battle, then people will be mad.

I think when the year 2000 comes all tax payers are going to have to pay for the upage on the computers and I myself don't think that would be a good idea because they are going to raise a big arguement and lead to a bad fight against the upage on this Y2K deal. It will go before a grand jury and loose the battle, then people will be mad.

This is a detailed It planning book that covers all aspects of setting up and managing a technology planning process. It tells you how to avoid problems. Each step of this planning process results in usable tables that can be easily updated. The disk provides a means to do this. At the end of the planning process you have a series of interrelated and integrated tables that are ideal for getting management commitment.

This well written book gives a step by step approach for creating an IT strategic plan. It works better than the methods of the big accounting firms. How to deal with issues encountered in planning is also covered. In addition, there are literally hundreds of guidelines from the real world. This book recognizes that planning resources are part-time people and an army of full time planners. Excellent approach for firms and agencies of all sizes.

This book is very well organized. It begins with the need for a planning process and proceeds to go through steps in developing the IT plan and implementing the planning process. It covers how to develop department IT plans. Hundreds of guidelines are given as well along with experience.

You know the story. You have more computer skills that anybody in the office and get corralled into doing some training. "OMG, what do I do now," you think?

Don't panic. Take a deep breath. Ask for more time to prepare and immediately order "The Accidental Trainer."

The book offers a solid grounding in training principles as well as preparing you for the inevitable learning bumps that you'll receive along the way. Read Accidental Trainer for a quick start and Telling Ain't Training for a more complete foundation. You'll do fine

Ms. Weiss has incorporated her knowledge of adult learning theory to craft a succinctly written, straightforward manual for trainers. As a physician who teaches very resistant adults new computer skills, I found her case studies amusing, yet realistic. The book reads easily, there are wonderful illustrations and very little computerese. The chapter headings and summaries show a recusive use of the learning theories' application to the books own internal structure. No one should teach computer skills without reading this book. Upon finishing the book, I know it immediately "saved" one class I had prepared from certain ignominy.

This book is a great addition to my personal library. It was easy to read, yet practical and informative. Weiss provides an overview of training technology and terminology that is easy to follow and incorporate into your own training situations. I would recommend this book as a guide for all levels of trainers, and all types of trainers, computer trainers and others.

Well structured and excellent all round book on hosted applications covering: the motivations for outsourcing; what application service providers (ASPs) are all about; ASP types, services and techologies used. Also good sections on ASP security and strategic analysis of ASP types. Writing quality is good. The author knows his subject and text is well edited. Overall, a very useful guide to what the ASPs are all about and a comprehensive introduction into the challenging world of the ASPs.

A wonderfully thorough examination on one of the most important themes facing tech-companies today! This book has it all; economics, strategic marketing processes, lucid observations and an incredibly learned analysis. I am stunned. Factor is hands down the world leader in ASP knowledge and a prophet in sizing up its future importance in the tech world. Read it!

This book is essential reading for all stakeholders in an ASP scenario: providers, clients, and investors/venture capitalists. The reasons for this bold statement are:

- PROVIDERS: Chapters 3 (Understanding ASP), 5 (Network Computing and ASP Architectures), 8 (ASP Security Services), and 10 (ASP Enabling: Requirements and Fulfillment) cover the critical success factors that the ASP needs to ensure, as well as gives a good overview of what it takes to frame a value proposition to potential clients.

- CLIENTS: Chapters 2 (Why Companies Outsource), 3 (Understanding ASP), 6 (ASP Types and Services), and 7 (Managing ASPs) show what to expect from an ASP, how to determine if outsourcing to one makes business sense, and how to effectively manage an ASP after the contract is signed.

- INVESTORS/VCs: Chapters 1 (The History and Evolution of Outsourcing and ASP), 2 (Why Companies Outsource), 4 (Taxonomy for ASP Economies), 9 (Strategic Analysis of ASP Types), and 11 (The Future of ASP) make a compelling case in favor of investing in an ASP, and how to properly evaluate proposed business models.

To be sure there is a lot of overlap of material that will be of interest between and among the stakeholders cited above, but the chapters I cited will be the ones that each should read first. What makes this book so valuable is the panoramic view of the ASP industry, and the level of detail that each topic is given. The author knows his stuff, and, more importantly, knows how to clearly communicate it.

If you are among the stakeholder groups cited above this is the single most informative book on the topic to date.

What was then called Just-in-Time is now Lean. Lots of the lingo has changed, but many of the core concepts have remained. Doc Hall's book captures some of the more subtle points that are missed today. This is a book that every lean leader should have read at some point. If you haven't, now's the time.

Robert Hall has scored a perfect 10 in terms of capturing JIT, TQM, Continuous Improvement, ERP all within the confines of one book. His style of writing is really absorbing. I was surprised to find that no one had written a review of this book. This book, if I recollect correctly, is a recommended reading for APICS's CRIM candidates. If you want to get a taste of all the proven manufacturing concepts and practices, then this book serves as a one-stop reading.

This is the finest, most practical and usable book I have ever read. Chapter 4 can be used to set up an entire factory with excellent results.

I set up a new factory using this book and reach proforma faster than I could believe.

Richard Barrett again does an outstanding job of clearly stating his main points, then building on them with facts and good examples. He is able to expertly blend some of the key principles of other authors -- Ken Wilbur and Don Beck -- with some of his material. The text provides some excellent evaluation tools, both for individuals and organizations. He references a number of websites for additional clarity of some of his points. He has an excellent reference list at the end of the book. Anyone who is looking at leadership and organizational values/vision/mission will do well to read this timely book.

Harry Owens, Jr., MD, MIM

Richard does another excellent job describing the seven levels of consciousness model and how this framework can be used to effectively measure an organization's culture. This process provides a values-based approach within a whole system perspective. Regardless of the status of an organziation's cultural health, this whole system approach provides the opportunity to integrate where an organization is (its current strengths, opportunities, systems and resources) and provides a map to get to where the organization wants to be. A great book that helps make sense of the complexity of organizational culture and how to improve it. Nice work!

Many of us read Richard Barrett's best-selling book, Liberating the Corporate Soul, and admired his visionary and soul nurturing approaches to building sustainable and enduring organisations. Now he has given birth to another major leap forward in how to develop and sustain values-based organisations. In this new book, Richard demonstrates again his genius at delivering clear conceptual and experience-based thinking on organisation culture as a new frontier of competitive advantage. Building on his experience in carrying out over 600 cultural values assessments in 35 countries, he shows how to build full-spectrum consciousness in leaders and organizations and how to carry out whole-system change to meet the challenges of accelerating change, deepening complexity and growing systemic risks.
George Starcher, President, European Baha'i Business Forum

Users love software that they don't have to pay for. But, some software professionals have to make a living creating and maintaining that software. Many companies today grapple with the question, "how to make money with Linux and Open Source?" Some software business leaders are worried about whether Linux and Open Source are impacting business viability of operating systems/environment business. Enterprise business and IT managers are quite happy to see the trend towards software they don't have to pay for. But, most often they do not understand what the implications are and what the fine prints way. Martin Fink has done an excellent job of compiling all the fundamental and essential information on the business aspects of Linux and Open Source software. He clarifies and removes many myths people carry in their minds. Probably this is a "one of its kind" book that brings together the various angles such as the overview of terms, understanding legal lingo, business model aspects, talent management aspects and so on. The book covers the essential technical aspects lucidly and adequately. If you are looking for a deep technical source for Linux and Open Source architectures, there are enough pointers in the book; but, this book is not meant for that purpose. I recommend this book for software engineers who have to understand the business aspects and Enterprise IT/Business Managers who are deploying/planning Linux and Open Source components in their business. The timing of the book is perfect. This book is a good candidate for bringing out update versions as the domain expands and matures. I don't know whether Martin Fink plans to upgrade the book year after year.

The author is definitely speaking from experience, providing valuable insights and recommmendations. Coming from a person who's been heading the Linux Systems Division of HP for over three years, it's not surprising.

Part I brings the reader to a sufficient level of familiarity with Linux, open source, licensing, communities and celebrities. Unless you are fully in touch with the open source world, you will certainly learn useful information in this part.

Part II explains what it means to implement Linux in your operations. No attempt is made to review or benchmark available distributions, and no selection process is presented, only some guidance is provided. This is understandable: Linux can take many shapes and forms and you can even create your own distribution. Because of this diversity, a whole chapter is devoted to standards that make it possible to use multiple distributions. The subject of Total Cost of Ownership is also covered, not in terms of numbers, but in terms of items to consider for calculating a total cost. There is no magic formula here, only an indication of what you should consider and how open source can affect the bottom line. The author then discusses the activity of deploying Linux, considering the issues of migration, coexistence, hardware, support, and training. Here again the author provides essential guidance without covering all the details of such undertaking.

Part III is about how to integrate open source into your organization. This is probably where most of the added value of this book lies. It is really in this part that the author draws from his experience in managing open source in a large organization. He first attempts to provide a functional model for an organization developing software, focusing on enabling an open source process as opposed to a conventional development model. This model may assume a large set of developers and may come out of the blue (it is presented then discussed), but it clearly demonstrates how much of a cultural change it requires to fully reap the benefits from an open source process, and how much other corporate functions such as marketing and HR have to adapt accordingly. Most importantly, this model can boldly be used as a replacement for conventional closed-source development. The author then covers other valuable topics: gated communities, the time value of software and how open source changes the equation and can be used to your advantage, the business models around open source, when to participate or create open source software, and what should be considered when deciding to use open source.

A highly recommended reading for anybody who is considering leveraging the benefits of open source within their organization.

I have just finished reading the book "The Business and Economics of Linux and Open Source" and wanted to let you know that I really enjoyed it. I am currently passing the book up my chain of command at work...

Linux and Open source is not "just" for geeks anymore. Business is embracing it and needs the guidance this book has to offer. It is the first book I have seen which addresses Linux and open source from a business perspective.

The background on Linux and Open source brings the reader up-to-speed on the key players and culture of the open source community and why it would be considered - staying focussed on facts and data. From this, Martin goes on to discuss the different issues one must address in considering the implementation of this technology in the Enterprise including the real costs and benefits.

Martin lends credibility to this topic as he is currently the VP & CTO at Hewlett-Packard heading its Linux Systems Division. He has to grapple with these issues everyday...

At a conference where Martin was speaking at recently, a senior executive at IBM mentioned that he was giving this book (an HP executive's book) to IBM's customers. Having read the book, I now understand why.

This book should be on every Business Continuity Planner's bookshelf. It succinctly presents the DRII Professional Practices - there is no "fluff" in this book.

This volume deserves to be an essential part of every BCP's toolbox.

This book is comprehensive and covers all the bases. No matter the size of your organizatrion, this book will give you solid guidelines and examples of starting a Business Continuity Program, managing it and performing all the other functions needed to help protect your company in the event of any sort of disruption or disaster.

This is the first Amazon review I've every submitted - but this book deserves my time. The book is full of rich content, it's well organized and is the perfect resource for both beginners and seasoned Business Continuity Planners. If you buy only one book, make this the one.

Mike Hydanus
President
Sage Consulting Group, LLC