Organizations Books

I don't think they could pack much more info into one book. It has refernces and shows how the author backs up his information. If you have people willing to really make thier church grow this book will help.

This book is perfect for those members of the church body who want to help but aren't sure where to begin. It's also perfect for pastors who want to teach on spiritual gifting, and also encourage church members to exercise their spiritual gifts with benefit to the church.

Wagner's writing is succinct, humorous, and clear. This book sheds light not only on different spiritual gifts, but theories surrounding them (the book draws from several lists in the Bible, none of which completely mention every spiritual gift), common misconceptions, as well as a test in the back of the book to help each person begin to get a sense of what his or her spiritual gifts might be.

The book is geared toward using spiritual gifts to help the church grow, and therefore focuses on some spiritual gifts more than others (to my disappointment, the ones barely touched upon seemed more relevant to me than the ones greatly expounded upon -- ah well, another book perhaps). I appreciated Wagner's candor and openness to other scholar's theories about spiritual giftings, as well as his standpoints on misuses of spiritual gifts.

This book is highly recommended as a place to begin your studies on spiritual giftings, especially in the context of gifts within the church body.

Having taught many seminars over the past seven years on Spiritual Gifts and having helped hundreds of people to find thier unique call to ministry through their giftedness, I found this little book to be a treasure of information. It succinctly describes the value of helping church members discover thier gifts and function out of them, leading to fulfilling and enthusiastic service for the Kingdom of God. Church leaders who have read this book in our setting have stopped looking for just "warm breathing bodies" to fill a position, but instead look for a person whose giftedness qualifies them for it and therefore classic burn-out is kept at a minnimum. Peter Wagner is easy to read and speaks clearly to the lay person.

At last a book that distills the learning of the last 20-30 years in business management. Drennan and Penningtons book is unique in the simple and structured way in which it helps set out action plans for us all, no matter what our role in business. An irresistible feature is a checklist for carrying out an immediate evaluation of your company and its world class status. A special aspect of the authors approach is the people dimension and how to achieve world class performance through people.

It is also a great reference book for picking up and putting down. Its part of my toolkit for running businesses in different parts of the world. Well done to the authors!

The book focuses on the 12 key benchmarks that lead on organization to world class performance and results. We are using this book within our facility in order to help drive results. Best practices and continuous improvement are the emphasis. I strongly recommend this book for all organizations. All managers have a copy of this book and we are beginning our world class audit.

This volume covers every government agency covering environmental concerns. Federally Protected Areas are described
together with the names and addresses of the supervisory governmental agencies. For instance, the federal agency for
Virginia and Eastern States is located at 7450 Boston Blvd.
Springfield VA 2253 703-440-1713.

The National Estuarine Research Reserves and National Forests
are located at the Bard College Field Station at 914-758-7033

This work would be valuable to a wide constituency of government planners and professionals in academe.

This is a must for conservation education professionals. The numerous indexes and summary descriptions of organizations are wonderful.

If you actually counted every idea this book suggests, you'd come up with loads more than 365, not to mention all the ideas of your own it inspires you to come up with! Entertaining, gift suggestions, wrappings, decorating, addresses for mail-order companies, recipes & lots more, all in one book. This is the book I've been wanting for years

I bought this book about 10 years ago, when I was first setting up my own house for Christmas. I read it cover-to-cover as soon as I got it, and have referred to it periodically since then. Many of the ideas aren't my style, but even those get me thinking, and there are plenty of other ideas to use/adapt.

There are no pictures to inspire, but the writing is crisp, the ideas are good, and the text is easy-to-read. The chapters cover:

Getting ready throughout the year
Preparing/buying gifts, wrap, cards, etc. (including food gifts)
Decorating the home/garden
The tree
Entertaining (including recipes)
Traditions

Some of my favorite ideas/recipes are the "Braided Wreath for Birdies" (a bread wreath with birdseed), "Winter Wonderland Centerpiece," and an never-fail party favorite, "Chocolate Indiscretions" (not quite a sin, just an indiscretion). I've considered picking up this newer edition to check for updates and new ideas -- and just because my paperback one is falling apart.

In this book Fisher presents models for three phases of cultural development: Culture of Comfort; Culture of Complacency; and Culture of Contribution. Six "productive" organizational activities commonly initiated by senior management are dispelled as "unproductive" to a contributory culture. Fisher goes on to analogize that just as termites destroy a home, "social termites" (employees with destructive behaviors) destroy and undermine an organizations infrastructure. Managing these covert-destructive behaviors (Six Silent Killers) are one of management's greatest challenges.

Fisher doesn't pull any punches in this book, and I like that. His brilliant and succinct writing style makes this book an absolute must for anyone who: a) makes decisions about employees (hiring, firing, performance assessments, etc.); b) can't put their finger on employee challenges; and c) for those looking to improve productivity and well being in their workplace.

Authors Note: As ! I was reading this book, I realized that three of my six employees in my restaurant business were clearly "social termites." I was working hard but getting no where, spending all my time putting out fires. This book provided me with the insights into employee behaviors which I was then able to take action on. Sales are up, customers are happy, other workers seem to enjoy their work more, leading to improved productivity. I no longer spend all my time putting out fires. I now spend my time managing a "successful, creative business" and leading the ENTIRE organization, not just an un-chosen few. I wish I had this book 30 years ago, but grateful that I have it now! Thank you James R. Fisher Jr.!!!

For many years, researchers and behavioral scientists have attempted to view organizations by using psychoanalytical and/or other psychological schools of thought structures. James R. Fisher, Jr. follows similar approaches, but does so, to this reviewer's opinion, with great insight, philosophical depth and uncanny predictive truth.

This book provides readers with an accurate development of organizations in the USA over the past century, and those crucial factors that must be taken into consideration if organizations are to survive. Fisher's vibrant prose explores the dominant cultures in the marketplace, the need for a new set of organizational paradigms, incipient catastrophe, the six silent killers, the cutlures of comfort, complacency, and contribution.

The author opens his heavily documented and self-experienced work with the dilemma that has spawned the "Six Silent Killers," and discusses why this phenomenon is the latest and greatest challenge to management. He observes that "professionals have the mind of an artist, rather than that of an analyst, more the heart of the creator than the discoverer, more the soul of the rebel than the patriot."

The book examines those areas that have created what Fisher calls "the new workforce that the post-industrial society has created." He cites the six silent killers, which have evolved in organizations as "a reaction to the frustration with the growing breach between the role demands of modern workers and the self-demands of those in charge."

Fisher's six silent killers, "the manic monarchs of the merry madhouse," are passive aggression, passive responsive, passive defensive, malicious obedience, approach avoidance, and obsessive compulsive behaviors.

His poetic description indicates that these silent killers "eat at the sinews of organizations, and workers who display them have an amazing ability to appear as performers when they clearly are not. They are caught in the crunch between hypocrisy and hype, turning their frustrations into deceptive devices. They are looking for leadership in a leaderless society. They are looking for direction when nobody admits to being off course. They are looking for real work in the chaos of activities. Wherever they look, they find confusion. Nobody knows who is in control or who has the power. Managers and workers alike, equally frustrated, spread these silent killers. Nobody is in charge. Management plays the role but has little control. Workers are reluctant to step up to the challenge of taking control because they don't want the responsibility. So control and productive effort slip silently between them, covered by the smoke and mirrors of frenzied activity."(pp. 87, 88)

After a substantive analysis of organizations and managers and workers, which represents the residue of an obsolete culture, Fisher explores the cultures of comfort, complacency and contribution. He suggest that modern organizations should develop the culture of contribution, which represents "an entirely new landscape for doing business, a new visage and frame of reference. It is the land of growth and contribution."

This book is written with sincerity and passion, evoking incredible syntactic imagery and stimulating thought. However, it is more an analytical approach in understanding cause and effect of American Society and its organizations rather than the process of solutions. It is optimistic, perhaps simplistic in the actualization of coping behaviors for survival, but it is very deep in ferreting out those hidden factors (subconscious) that impact behavior without an explanation as to why this kind of behavior occurs.

James R. Fisher, Jr. has succeeded in writing a book which is a valuable contribution to the fields of psychology, philosophy and business. He provides insight and important issues in contemporty society that allows readers and organizations to understand, prepare for, and survive the new millennium.

This is a dangerous book. Why? Because those who make a total, long-term commitment to the eight practices will create great turbulence which must be overcome. Most of the wounds which organizations experience are self-inflicted...including the damage caused by ignorance and arrogance. Perils are inevitable whenever bold initiatives are undertaken. For those unwilling and/or unable to make a commitment to achieving and then sustaining excellence, their cause is hopeless. Fitz-enz insists that the best organizations are led by those who effectively nourish as well as manage human assets. Organizations grow only to the extent that those who comprise them grow. As he correctly points out, "In a knowledge company, people are the only profit lever."

One final point: The best practices for any organization are often found within that organization. As a recruiting slogan for the U.S. Army suggests, "Be all that you can be." Stop looking for THE BIG ANSWER elsewhere. Look within yourself and within your own organization. Discover how to implement the eight practices in ways and to the extent that are most appropriate. Pogo once said, "We have met the enemy and he is us." Fitz-enz would perhaps accept a paraphrase of that: "We have found ways to be the best...and they are in us."ÿ

"Although best practices and benchmarking have become intertwined topics for some people, this book is not a discussion of benchmarking. Instead, it is a discussion of our findings and opinions based on research into how effective companies manage the 'human asset'-the people whose efforts are the basis of any organization's success...This book is designed to serve two purposes. The first is to present the best human asset management practices that my organization, the Saratoga Institute, uncovered during a four-year study of over 1,000 companies. We learned that what constitutes best practice is an interactive set of eight organizational characteristics...My second objective is to expose the wasteful and misleading practices that cause three out of four improvement projects to fall short of their goals" (from the Introduction).

In this context, in Chapter 1, Jac Fitz-enz identifies the eight driving forces that make up the context from which the best human asset management systems (BHAMs) and processes are derived: an interwoven human-financial value focus, commitment to a long-term core strategy, linkage of culture and systems, massive multidimensional communications, partnering within and outside the company, collaboration within functional groups, innovation through well-planned and managed risk taking, and a competitive passion that is never satisfied with less than constant improvement. Hence, throughout the following chapters, he explains each driving force and presents case studies of BHAM companies both in the U.S. and abroad. And, at the end of each chapter, he gives a short checklist. He says that "build your best practices by answering to those questions, you will have the blueprint for being one of the best human asset management organization."

Finally, he writes, "Wouldn't it make more sense to accept the fact that complex problems can't be solved by simplistic programs or popular panaceas? Instead, take the time you might put into chasing the newest miracle cure and put it into:

* Focusing your organization on value

* Making a long-term commitment to a core strategy

* Linking your culture to your systems

* Communicating everything that people should know

* Partnering

* Being mutually supportive

* Innovating and taking well-considered risks

* Never getting complacent."

Highly recommended.

I puchased this book for my wife as a birthday present. Ironically I read it once she was done, based on her flowering recomendation. It was fantastic, well written, and inspirational. The pictures of the original texts are beutiful. I will read a page or two when ever I need a quick pick me up. In these times, thats probably going to be often.

This is a condensed version of the Psalms as editted by the Venerable Bede (c. 673-735). It is illustrated by plates of the Latin and translated well by a professor of Classics at the University of Illinois (Urbana). The translation is very readable.

The condensations may be as long 11 or 12 verses or a short as a phrase. Often they trigger a memory of the Psalm from which they come; this would be even more common among those who regularly pray the Psalms. Reading the condensations gives an overview of the Psalms as a whole, that is difficult to observe when reading the entire Psalter. This overview helps place the various psalms in their literary and theological context.

One oddity in Bede's abridgment; Psalm 50 not only prefigures Jesus but refers directly to him! The brief introduction explains this and the single line from Psalm 136 which in no way implies the well-known "By the waters of Babylon".

If you are interested in the early Church in England, liturgy, or a devotional version of the Psalms, this version is well worth exploring.

This book is concise but at the same time very explanatory, clearly breaking down the process of community organizing into its essential elements, at least according to the author's perspective. The book was written a while ago, but the issues are still very relevant. I'm very new to reading about CO, but just reading the book got me very excited about the possibility for real change. I highly recommend it to other interested in entering the field.

Many churches and synagogues, when faced with a needy situation in their neighborhoods, are paralyzed or indecisive. Should they provide for the needy while ignoring the root cause of the distress? Should they urge their members to pursue political correctives through the ballot box? Should the institution involve itself in partisan politics?

None of these approaches is the best way, according to Gregory Pierce. If they are truly to have an impact on their social milieu, congegations must involve themselves in broadly-based community organizations large and powerful enough to confront underlying causes of need. This tried and proven method was developed forty years go by Saul Alinsky and is still employed successfully today.

In order to be effective in community organizations, however, congregations must be willing to work with other groups with different ideologies, and they must understand and be willing to utilize the levers of power. This book is a primer for lay leaders and clergy who want to move their congregations into the arena of activism. It tells them what to do -- and what not to do -- if they want to make a difference in their neighborhoods.

This book is highly readable and has GREAT examples and tips. The author shows examples where organizations succeeded and where they failed. As a novice activist, I found it to be very helpful. The examples are diverse so I think there is a great deal for more experienced activits to learn as well. The only drawback of this book is that it focuses only on domestic issues. For those whose causes are on the international level as well as the domestic level would find that to be the only draw back. Still, this is a useful book with great examples and ideas that any activist could use and relate to their own campaign.

Even if you're not an activist and don't want to be, as long as you have any sort of interest in social change, this book will be well worth reading. Packed with examples of how movements have succeeded and failed, this extremely readable handbook will inspire through its analysis of strategies and tactics that can be used to accomplish what many of us desperately want. Most of us understand already that simply arguing for social justice will fail to achieve it, but -- as Shaw demonstrates -- Herculean efforts, if miscalculated, will just as surely fail. In this book, Shaw describes successful strategies for community organizers, effective relationships with elected officials, the use of coalitions, ballot initiatives, the media, lawyers, and direct action strategies. The most persuasive theme tying each of these discussions together is that the best defense is an effective offense, that a failure to aggressively pursue positive change is a strategy for worsening the status quo.

Although to many, the rate of change in the IT area has slowed down from the frenetic pace of the dot com era, to most that is just as much an illusion as the false profits of the dot com era were. The rate of change is still rapid, and in many areas the extent of the change is hidden. If your task is to make a "small" change to a large program, that single change may be monumental, in approach, execution and consequences. Therefore, when talk turns to being an adaptive enterprise, it must include both the ability to create new products in order to enter new markets and the capability of adapting current products to respond to smaller changes in customer needs. It is not possible to consider one to be microchanges and the other macrochanges, as either one could be large or small depending on the circumstances.
In both cases, it is not possible to be adaptable without adopting the appropriate mindset, which involves emotional and organizational adjustments. Emotionally, one must become tolerant of change and organizationally, it is necessary for information to flow quickly and in both directions along the hierarchy chart. The emphasis in this book is on the organizational adjustments that need to be made, although the emotional adjustments are occasionally mentioned. The organizational adjustments are handled very well, described in enough detail so that there is no ambiguity in understanding what they are and how they are performed.
The emphasis is on reusable components, not all of which are constructed of software. In chapter 2, there are descriptions of the physical components, functional components and interface components. Several different types of organizational patterns are described, what they are, how they are used as well as the consequences of their use. Chapter 3 covers the general categories of transact patterns, publish patterns and collaboration patterns. A transact pattern is any application that writes structured information to a system. Publish patterns deal with data that is presented in a read-only form, although it also includes any summaries and other analysis done on the data. The collaborate patterns deal with the sharing of data between peers. Each pattern covered is then summarized in sections describing the benefits of using it as well as the weaknesses that it exhibits.
In chapter 4, the emphasis is on the creation of adaptive services, which are shared structures that are static and permanent, reusable and have a different lifecycle than the physical infrastructure. As the authors mention, the key to providing adaptive services is to identify those parts that need to change independently, and structure the service so they can be altered without changing the other components.
Chapters 5, 6 and 7 deal with the strategies used to define the business problem(s) to be solved, developing arguments to justify the project and obtain the funding, managing per-project processes as well as periodic processes, communicating with developers and customers, and the management of the people in the process. This section is a summary of the best practices in how to identify and solve problems using methods that will lead to subsequent problems being easier to solve.
After a great deal of ink has been used to explain the failures of software development, the IT crowd has made relatively little progress in solving many of the problems of software development. Some of that ink might as well have been spilled, but not so for the ink used to create this book. Packed with sound advice as to how to build a solid yet flexible developmental infrastructure, this is one book that all managers of large projects should read.

The infrastructure management approach that the authors give in this book incorporates practices from systems (and software) engineering, and is a blueprint for success. The objectives are: (1) end-to-end management with no gaps in ownership, (2)cost efficiencies through reuse and component-based strategies, (3)holistic view that looks at business, operational and technology (instead of the common 'technology only' view), and adaptability (an infrastructure that is managed to long range goals, but can be quickly adapted to emerging and immediate business needs).

How the authors meet these objectives is by identifying physical, functional and interface components that make up the infrastructure and integrating them into a service-oriented framework. This is consistent with component-based software engineering, and it is a remarkably good fit to infrastructure management. Moreover, the authors introduce patterns, also borrowed from software and systems engineering disciplines, to map business requirements to design in an efficient manner that promotes reuse. Another advantage of patterns is this approach captures knowledge (something not directly pointed out in the book). If you're not familiar with process patterns the book I recommend for infrastructure professionals is More Process Patterns by Scott Ambler. This is the second of a two book set and it directly addresses patterns that are related to infrastructure (the first book, Process Patterns, is more focused on software engineering).

The two chapters I liked the most are 4, Developing Adaptive Services, and 5, Services Starter Kit. These chapters tie services to infrastructure and go into fine detail about how to integrate services and the underlying technology. I especially like the way the authors use multiple life cycle management for each layer in the infrastructure. Chapters 6 (Processes and Methods) and 7 (Packaging and People) neatly pull together the preceding chapters into a coherent, process-oriented strategy. The single appendix is also valuable because it gives a comprehensive component catalog. This catalog can be used as the basis of the infrastructure blueprint as well as the foundation of an encompassing asset management initiative.