New Zealand Books

Lets face it, the management of risk should not be a retrospective issue, but rather one of forecasting the probability of possible future problems and preventing them before they can happen. This should be done by addressing these possibilities through the use of contingency plans and is something that occurs far too infrequently. This subject for some reason has, to a major degree, gone without being addressed even though it is pertinent to marketing, just as it is to all other areas in business and government. Dr. Caragata, A CANADIAN SOFTWARE DESIGNER LIVING IN NEW ZEALAND, is well qualified for the task and has put together what this writer considers one of the most important books dedicated to this subject available today. This book is unique in that it addresses the subject of risk and how it can and should be addressed. Many examples of past incidents are cited. In an era in which greater culpability is being placed on administrators be it industry, commerce or government, this book is mandatory reading. It addresses the different types of risk and cites examples of how that risk can be addressed and the costs involved both in terms of monetary loss and survival. This can be appreciated when one considers the rash of air disasters such as the Swiss Air crash, oil spills such as that of the EXXON-Valdez and environmental CATASTROPHES such as that in Bhopal India by Union Carbide, to name only a few. Dr. Caragata provides examples of how these disasters as well as others could have been avoided had the early warning signs been acknowledged and dealt with. HE demonstrates that the science of examining the warning signs for survival are consistent ACROSS MAJOR BUSINESS DISASTERS. He states that many signs can be tracked electronically through the use of electronic risk profiling. He suggests that the use of such tools can provide senior management with the tools to train management and boards to be more open to information challenging their dominant values. He CONCLUDES THAT THERE ARE EIGHT MAJOR FOOTSTEPS TO BUSINESS DISASTERS:POOR QUALITY INFORMATION, INADEQUATE BACK-UP SYSTEMS, INADEQUATE FUNDING FOR WARNING SYSTEMS, WEAK RISK STANDARDS, IGNORING RISK THRESHOLDS, IGNORING EARLY WARNING SIGNS, INADEQUATE ADVANCE SCREENING AND LACK OF CLEAR SIGNALS. I would add that these deficiencies are applicable to all functions within industry, commerce or government. Again I emphasize that this book is mandatory reading for any person in a position of authority

Lets face it, the management of risk should not be a retrospective issue, but rather one of forecasting the probability of possible future problems and preventing them before they can happen. This should be done by addressing these possibilities through the use of contingency plans and is something that occurs far too infrequently. This subject for some reason has, to a major degree, gone without being addressed even though it is pertinent to marketing, just as it is to all other areas in business and government. Dr. Caragata, A CANADIAN SOFTWARE DESIGNER LIVING IN NEW ZEALAND, is well qualified for the task and has put together what this writer considers one of the most important books dedicated to this subject available today. This book is unique in that it addresses the subject of risk and how it can and should be addressed. Many examples of past incidents are cited. In an era in which greater culpability is being placed on administrators be it industry, commerce or government, this book is mandatory reading. It addresses the different types of risk and cites examples of how that risk can be addressed and the costs involved both in terms of monetary loss and survival. This can be appreciated when one considers the rash of air disasters such as the Swiss Air crash, oil spills such as that of the EXXON-Valdez and environmental CATASTROPHES such as that in Bhopal India by Union Carbide, to name only a few. Dr. Caragata provides examples of how these disasters as well as others could have been avoided had the early warning signs been acknowledged and dealt with. HE demonstrates that the science of examining the warning signs for survival are consistent ACROSS MAJOR BUSINESS DISASTERS. He states that many signs can be tracked electronically through the use of electronic risk profiling. He suggests that the use of such tools can provide senior management with the tools to train management and boards to be more open to information challenging their dominant values. He CONCLUDES THAT THERE ARE EIGHT MAJOR FOOTSTEPS TO BUSINESS DISASTERS:POOR QUALITY INFORMATION, INADEQUATE BACK-UP SYSTEMS, INADEQUATE FUNDING FOR WARNING SYSTEMS, WEAK RISK STANDARDS, IGNORING RISK THRESHOLDS, IGNORING EARLY WARNING SIGNS, INADEQUATE ADVANCE SCREENING AND LACK OF CLEAR SIGNALS. I would add that these deficiencies are applicable to all functions within industry, commerce or government. Again I emphasize that this book is mandatory reading for any person in a position of authority

New Zealand is indeed fortunate in the number of bird books which have been published over the past century. Back in 1953, the Ornithological Society of NZ published a "Checklist of New Zealand Birds". In 1959, the Society approached RA Falla, RB Sibson & EG Turbott to compile a practical field guide.

In 1966, this appeared as "A Field Guide to the Birds of New Zealand", published by Collins. It rapidly became the bible for several generations of field ornithologists. Several revisions of the original field guide were made, up to 1978. They all grace my bookshelf.

Finally, in 1976, almost 20 years later, this new guide has appeared. It isn't quite as portable as the original, but contains a wealth of information. The guide is divided into two sections.

The first 150 pages are an indentification guide, with brief descriptions and distribution maps facing colour illustrations of the species. The remaining 260 pages provide much more detail on the distribution, population status, breeding and behaviour of the 328 endemic and introduced bird species found in New Zealand.

Barrie and Hugh are to be congratulated on the depth of research they have done to compile the text. Similarly, Derek Onley's illustrations give much better detail of recognition features than do most photographs.

This is the one essential book for local naturalists, or overseas birders visiting New Zealand.